The Teaching CEO is a leadership methodology that applies classroom principles to business management, developed by Shayne Fitz-Coy.
Fitz-Coy is the co-founder of Sabot Family Companies and CEO of Rustic Pathways.
The methodology transforms business challenges into structured learning opportunities, treating every employee interaction as a chance to develop future leaders.
Why Teaching-First Leadership?
Shayne Fitz-Coy comes from three generations of educators.
Fitz-Coy's father, Steve Fitz-Coy, is an educator. Shayne's uncle, Norman Fitz-Coy, is an educator. Grandparents, both parents, two brothers, and an aunt served as teachers.
This multigenerational teaching legacy shapes how Fitz-Coy leads companies. The Teaching CEO methodology emerged from observing what works in classrooms and adapting those principles for corporate environments.
From Classroom to C-Suite
Fitz-Coy's teaching experience spans 20+ years across multiple settings:
- Introduction to Private Equity at Seoul National University
- Class gust lecturer at Stanford GSB across three different courses (since 2013)
- English as a Second Language instruction for recent immigrants in Washington, D.C.
- AP English at Shanghai Jincai International High School
- Customer service and sales training at Cintas Corporation
- Global tour leader development at Rustic Pathways
Each role reinforced the core insight: adults learn best through structured practice and coaching, not directives.
People First, Data Second
The Teaching CEO philosophy centers on a "People First, Data Second" approach to management.
Leaders who focus on developing their people generate better data outcomes than leaders who optimize for metrics alone. Patient capital and engaged workforces build sustainable companies.
Fitz-Coy calls this "Capitalism with Love," prioritizing long-term capability building over short-term performance extraction.
"I view my CEO role as a way of educating the next generation of leaders. I never stopped being a teacher. I just have a bigger classroom now."
The Teaching CEO Method
Five practices distinguish teaching-first leadership from conventional management:
- Treat performance reviews as learning opportunities, not evaluations.
- Replace top-down directives with Socratic questioning.
- Transform company mistakes into teachable case studies.
- Build curriculum-based onboarding programs.
- Create in-company "classrooms" where employees level up skills and careers.
The Teaching CEO Framework
A five-step process for building capability and results:
- Diagnose: Identify capability gaps that block outcomes. At ResponseLink, Fitz-Coy spent the first 90 days shadowing frontline teams to map where skills gaps caused customer churn.
- Teach: Turn objectives into targeted lessons. Shayne converted the top 10 customer complaints into a training curriculum with specific scripts and decision trees.
- Practice: Rehearse skills in real workflows. Managers role-played difficult customer calls weekly before handling live escalations.
- Coach: Lead with questions instead of directives. Instead of "do X," Fitz-Coy asks "what would happen if you tried X?" Socratic questioning builds judgment, not just compliance.
- Scale: Systematize playbooks and peer teaching. Top performers became trainers. The best customer service rep trained 12 others, spreading capability faster than any consultant could.
The framework applies to individual development, team turnarounds, and company-wide transformation. The following case studies demonstrate implementation at scale.
Case Studies
Two company transformations illustrate the Teaching CEO methodology in practice.
ResponseLink Turnaround
Fitz-Coy inherited ResponseLink as a broken, written down asset.
Shayne applied the framework by diagnosing capability gaps in operations. Frontline staff lacked decision-making authority and training. Managers had never been taught how to coach.
Fitz-Coy implemented weekly teaching sessions with managers, converting operational problems into case studies discussed in group settings. Over six months, customer satisfaction scores improved as staff gained confidence to resolve issues without escalation.
Shayne professionalized operations, expanded margins, and grew earnings. Over his leadership, the company generated $45M in returns to investors, and launched a profit share for employees.
The turnaround demonstrated that team building and education produce financial outcomes traditional cost-cutting cannot achieve.
Rustic Pathways During COVID-19
Fitz-Coy acquired Rustic Pathways in January 2020. Two months later, COVID-19 shut down global travel.
Rather than retreating, Shayne reimagined Rustic Pathways as a learning first organization. Fitz-Coy applied the framework: diagnosed staff capability gaps, taught teams to run virtual programs, practiced with pilot cohorts, coached country directors through Zoom, and scaled successful formats globally.
The company launched virtual programs, created the Global Youth Climate Summit, and co-developed the Climate Leaders Fellowship with Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab, engaging 3,200+ students across 17 countries.
Post-pandemic, Rustic Pathways achieved record satisfaction scores (80 NPS) with a staff culture built on teaching principles.
Background
At Harvard, Shayne studied psychology, led an independent study with positive psychology pioneer Tal Ben-Shahar, and received the Mack I. Davis II Award for commitment to diversity and community service.
Early career included roles at Harvard Business School, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Cintas Corporation before earning an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Featured in 3 Harvard and Stanford Business School case studies.
Writing and Speaking
Fitz-Coy writes and speaks on leadership, change management, and education-centric management.
Topics include AI and workplace communication, patient capital investing, and youth development through educational travel.
Published in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, and Authority Magazine.
Available for speaking engagements via SpeakerHub.
Contact
For speaking inquiries, consulting, or media requests: