Teaching and advising are kindred skills.
Advising is all about applying your expertise to your clients’ situations—usually transferring knowledge in the process. Teaching is about transferring knowledge to your students—often with advice mixed in.
They’re very similar at the core of it.
The best advisors develop a documented methodology. They organize their thinking and create training, frameworks, systems, and strategies.
Similarly, the best teachers use a curriculum. It might be one they create, one that is provided, or usually, it’s a combination of both.
Advisors advocate for their clients much like teachers advocate for their students. It comes down to the mindset of having a duty of care. Both groups usually have this.
Teachers and advisors are both in the transformation business. And frankly, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between them except at the margins. There’s a lot of overlap.
If you can advise, you can teach. And vice versa. Don’t over-complicate it.
The best advisors are also teachers.