We lead, others follow -

We lead, others follow, and we should teach our students to do the same

Article by Mark Powell

At SDI we use the phrase “we lead, others follow” to indicate that we have continually innovated within the diving industry. This phrase should also influence how we teach our students. We should be teaching them to be leaders, not followers.

I have had this conversation recently with an SDI Open Water instructor candidate about teaching open water divers but a few days later I had a very similar conversation with a TDI CCR instructor candidate about teaching CCR divers. In both cases the focus of the conversation was about teaching the diver to lead a dive, rather than just perform a set of skills.

Do we need to teach SDI open water divers to lead?

The ISO and RSTC standards, as well most agency standards, for open water divers state that an open water diver should be able to dive with someone of the same level. That means that two open water divers are capable of diving together without a DM or an instructor. In this case, one of the two will need to “lead” the dive and any open water diver must be capable of taking on this role. This is a surprise to many open water divers, and indeed to many instructors, who assume that an open water diver will be diving with a DM, an instructor or at the very least a very experienced diver. However, this is not meeting the criteria of the course.

If an open water student is not capable of diving with another open water diver, they should not be signed off by the instructor as an open-water diver. Under the ISO and RSTC standards, there is a qualification for a diver that can only dive with a dive professional. At SDI, we call this a supervised diver (the qualification does what it says on the tin!).

For many new divers they want to dive with a DM or an instructor as they do not feel confident to dive with another open water diver and so the supervised diver is a great qualification that should be more widely used.

You can ask your divers if they want to get a qualification that allows them to dive with another diver of the same level or if they would prefer a qualification that means that will be diving with a dive professional. You will be surprised how many new divers will choose the supervised diver option. Many new divers want the security of diving with a DM or an instructor as well as wanting to have a dive guide who can show them the best aspects of a dive site. Promoting the supervised diver rating also gives you the opportunity to sell them the open water upgrade at some point in the future.

However, if the diver wants to gain the full open water qualification, they must be capable of leading a dive.

How do we teach open water divers to lead?

The structure of many open water courses naturally ends up with the student being cast in the role of follower. The instructor makes all the decision; the location, entry/exit point, the route, the skills and the timing. As an instructor, they are the expert and the student diver follows their lead. At the end of the course, they have spent the entire time following the instructor’s lead. Is it any surprise that they are unable to lead a dive?

In order to change this, we need to restructure the final dive. This last dive is a chance for them to show that they are capable of being open water divers and leading the dive. My briefing for the final dive will go something like the following;

“This is the last dive of the course. If it all goes well then tomorrow you will be qualified as an open water diver and will be able to dive with another open water diver. To show that you are ready for this, I am going to let the two of you take charge of this dive. You know the site already so I want you to plan the dive and take me for a dive. I will let you choose the route and navigate us around the route. I want you to act as a buddy pair and I will follow behind to monitor you. You will need to keep an eye on each other, your depth, time and air. Take me diving and show me that you are ready to be open water divers.”

With a final dive like this it gives the divers an opportunity to show that they can dive as a buddy pair even though you are there just in case there is a problem. This gives them, and you, the confidence that they can do this safely. It also means that they are much more likely to continue diving as they have a higher level of confidence.

What about tech divers?

You would think that by the time that a diver reaches the lofty heights of CCR mixed gas diver that they would be more than confident to lead a dive. However, even at these higher levels we can fall into the same trap. I was recently running a CCR mixed gas instructor course and the instructor candidate took charge of everything on the course. They set out the dives, the location, the timings of the dive and “lead” each dive. In this case, the student had done a number of previous courses with that same instructor and there was a natural tendency for them to look up to the instructor. As a result, I saw the same effect in that the diver was being conditioned to be a follower rather than a leader.

This effect is magnified when teaching one-to-one. The student will struggle to think of the instructor as their teammate and instead will defer to them as an instructor. This is one of the reasons why I always try to avoid teaching one-to-one. Students think that they get a better experience if they have the undivided attention of the instructor, but this is not always the case. While they might get more time focusing on individual skills, they will not get such a good experience in developing team diving. The TDI general standards states that “Team diving concepts are to be emphasized on all dives in all TDI courses.” The second “in-water skill” in almost every TDI course is “Show good awareness of buddy and other team members through communications, proximity, and team-oriented dive practices.” The first step in team diving is having a team and I would argue that it is much harder, or at least more complicated, to have a student-instructor team rather than 2 or ideally 3 students working together as a team.

How do we teach tech divers to lead?

The easiest solution is to have a team of 2 or 3 students and get them to work as a team. Allocate a team leader on each dive rather than letting the loudest, most confident or natural leader always take the lead. Each member of the team should be capable of taking over if the leader has a problem or is incapacitated, Set up a scenario where the leader has a problem that means that they should no longer be the leader and see if someone steps up to take charge.

If you have to teach one-to-one then make it clear that on some of the dives you want the student to take the lead. In this case, you have to then let them lead. If you are constantly undermining their decisions they will just give up on leading and let you take charge. Allow them to select the site, route and gas choices. Get them to give the dive briefing and to coordinate with the boat crew, surface support and gas room.

Ultimately the goal of tech training is to create team members that are capable of diving with you on real tech dives or on real projects. This takes effort from both them and from you. Some students struggle to see you as a buddy rather than as their instructor. Equally, many instructors encourage the idea that they are in a different league to their students. This is often due to ego or alternatively through a lack of confidence. Some instructors cannot accept that their students can achieve a level of skill equal to or even better then themselves.

One of my proudest moments was when a student of mine who had struggled with confidence invited me to join an expedition he had arranged. This was to dive a wreck that had always been his goal when he started tech diving. He made all the arrangements and ran everything. I just turned up as a diver and joined him on the dive. It was enormously satisfying to see him overcome his issues and develop into a leader.

If you are bemoaning that you do not have good team members who can join you as a buddy rather than as a student, then maybe the issue is the way you are training them rather than the divers themselves.

1 reply

Andrea Caronti says:
July 22, 2025 at 8:53 am

“..many instructors encourage the idea that they are in a different league to their students. This is often due to ego or alternatively through a lack of confidence. Some instructors cannot accept that their students can achieve a level of skill equal to or even better then themselves.”

Indeed one of the best feelings as an istructor is to see that your former students want to continue with diving education! With the right mindset there is no limit in training opportunities!
Out of personal experience: your students or your own former instructors can become your best dive buddies!
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