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  • 2020
  • Book

Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire

By: Thomas J. DeLong
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are teachers. Teaching by Heart summarizes the author's key insights gained from more than 40 years of teaching and managing. It illustrates how teachers can both lift people up and let them down. It proposes that the best teachers are also leaders, and the best leaders are also teachers. In examining how to lead and teach, renowned Harvard Business School professor Thomas J. DeLong takes the reader inside his own head and heart. He notes that, as teachers, we often focus more on our inadequacies and missteps than on our strengths and unique talents. He explains why this is so by dissecting and analyzing his own experiences—using himself as a case study. The book's goal is to help readers learn about the intricacies of teaching and managing and to impart lessons about how teachers can create a unique teaching atmosphere. To do this, the author analyzes the process of creating a curriculum, preparing for an 80-minute class, managing the 15 minutes before class begins, and evaluating the nature of the teaching experience after the session concludes. Along the way, he connects specific classroom behaviors with leadership issues—in organizations, in teams, and in personal relationships. He also asks—and answers—some provocative questions: What happens on multiple levels when I teach or lead—with me, students, or professionals? What am I thinking and feeling as I process what students are thinking and feeling? How are my internal conversations affecting how I teach and lead? How do I manage my biases, including having "favorite" students? To what extent can I use teaching methods in the arena of management? Throughout Teaching by Heart, DeLong discusses why empathy and authenticity matter. When teachers embrace this mindset, students have the opportunity to have a unique learning experience. Teachers and managers will learn how to create moments of transformation for students.

Whether you're a university professor, a student, a business leader, or just someone fascinated by teaching, this book will instruct, entertain, and—hopefully—inspire.

Keywords

Teaching; Leadership; Attitudes; Management; Business Education

Citation

DeLong, Thomas J. Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020.
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About The Author

Thomas J. DeLong

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • August 2024 (Revised September 2024)
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    Dishoom: From Bombay with Love

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    • July 2023
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    Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance (B)

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    • July 2023
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    Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance

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More from the Author
  • Dishoom: From Bombay with Love By: Anjali M. Bhatt and Thomas J. DeLong
  • Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance (B) By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer
  • Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer
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