Entrepreneurial skills aren't just for entrepreneurs. Teachers need them the most.

When I first founded the Club Kidpreneur Foundation in 2009 it was all about the kids. I wanted to make sure every primary-aged kid in Australia had an experience of entrepreneurship before they hit high school to develop the vital life skills they need to thrive and to inspire some to choose entrepreneurship as a career path. To do this we developed our Kidpreneur Challenge program specifically for teachers to deliver in the classroom as part of the national curriculum. 

After six years I’ve realised that not only have our programs sparked the entrepreneurial spirit in over 10,000 kidpreneurs, teacher feedback is revealing that exposure to the program is impacting our educators just as much.

Over time I’ve become even more convinced that entrepreneurial skills aren’t just for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial skills are life skills. They’re things like confidence, resilience, creative problem solving, critical thinking, the ability to collaborate and draw on other people for skills and knowledge, and being brave enough to put an idea into action. These are the same skills that an engaging, ‘entrepreneurial’ teacher draws on to inspire young minds, provoke curiosity and encourage a ‘just-have-a-go’ attitude.

Much like employees in organisations who are encouraged to challenge the status quo, find a more efficient way of doing things, or create new ideas for the business – entrepreneurial teachers do this within their classrooms and schools to bring the best out in their students. I like to call these teachers “intrapreneurs”. 

Here are three reasons why we need to recognise and celebrate the ‘Intrapreneur Teacher’:

The Power of Role Models

If as humans we’re shaped by the top five people we spend the most time with, for primary schoolers their teacher is likely to be in the top 3. If we truly want to inspire the innovators of the future, an entrepreneurial mindset must be modelled to them. Intrapreneurial teachers don’t spend time finger-pointing or complaining about problems, they focus on solutions. They take ownership of their teaching, seeing their class and school not as it is now, but as it could be and feel empowered to take steps toward making that a reality. Imagine what kids would learn from seeing their teacher resiliently learn from mistakes, implement an innovative new learning project or creatively problem-solve when a student is falling through the cracks. One of the most foolish and destructive clichés us adults can say to our kids is, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Well, here’s another cliché for you – “Actions speak louder than words”.

Teachers Are World Shapers

I’ve become fascinated by the approach Finland takes to education, where teachers are among the highest paid professions and the most esteemed. The Finnish seem to acknowledge the fact that teachers are the individuals responsible for shaping the global citizens who will inherit the world and determine the trajectory of its future. They have more of an impact on the future of their communities, countries and the world than almost any other profession. Intrapreneurial skills empower and drive teachers to passionately inspire and shape the kids in their care. We ought to celebrate and empower them to do so. 

Education is Ripe for Disruption

We’re seeing it in educational rhetoric with talk of 21st Century Fluencies, flipped classrooms and inquiry-led learning. The rapid rate of change in the digital revolution we find our world hurtling into is demanding innovation in education in order to prepare kids to thrive in a world very different to the one we grew up in. When I recently saw the trailer for the film Most Likely to Succeed I was encouraged to see a host of intrapreneurs reshaping an education system built for the industrial world. We need more of these intrapreneurs for the tide of educational innovation to gain momentum and establish a new normal.

I’m looking forward to sharing more about fostering an intrapreneurial culture in schools with the 8,000 plus attendees at EduTECH in Brisbane next week. It’s not too late to attend if you’re an intrapreneurial educator keen to learn more.