Teachability: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
– John Wooden, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach
Leaders face the danger of contentment with the status quo. After all, if a leader already possesses influence and has achieved a level of respect, why should he keep growing? The answer is simple:
- Your growth determines who you are.
- Who you are determines who you attract.
- Who you attract determines the success of your organization.
If you want to grow your organization, you have to remain teachable. These five guidelines will help you cultivate and maintain a teachable attitude:
- Cure Your Destination Disease – Ironically, lack of teachability is often rooted in achievement. Some people mistakenly believe that if they can accomplish a particular goal, they no longer have to grow. It can happen with almost anything: earning a degree, reaching a desired position, receiving a particular award, or achieving a financial goal. But effective leaders cannot afford to think this way. They day they stop growing is the day they forfeit their potential-and the potential of the organization. Remember the words of Ray Kroc: “As long as you’re green, you’re growing. As soon as you’re ripe, you start to rot.”
- Overcome Your Success – Another irony of teachability is that success often hinders it. Effective leaders know that what got them there doesn’t keep them there. If you have been successful in the past, beware. And consider this: if what you did yesterday still looks big to you, you haven’t done much today.
- Swear Off Shortcuts – The longest distance between two points is a shortcut. For everything of value in life, you pay a price. As you desire to grow in a particular area, figure out what it will really take, including the price, and then determine to pay it.
- Trade In Your Pride – Teachability requires us to admit we don’t know everything, and that can make us look bad. In addition, if we keep learning, we must also keep making mistakes. But as writer and expert craftsman Elbert Hubbard said, “The greatest mistake one can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” You cannot be prideful and teachable at the same time. For everything you gain, you lose something. To gain growth, give up your pride.
- Never Pay Twice for the Same Mistake – He who makes no mistakes, makes no progress is a true statement, but the leader who keeps making the same mistake also makes no progress. As a teachable leader, you will make mistakes. Forget them, but always remember what they taught you. If you don’t, you will pay for them more than once.
Reflection
There was a sign in a feed store that read, “If you don’t like the crop you are reaping, check the seed you are sowing. This is a wonderful principle. What kind of crop are you reaping? Do your life and leadership seem to be getting better day after day, month after month, year after year? Or are you constantly fighting just to hold your ground? If you’re not where you hoped you would be by this time in your life, your problem may be lack of teachability. When was the last time you did something for the first time? When was the last time you made yourself vulnerable by diving into something for which you weren’t the expert? Observe your attitude toward growing and learning during the next several days or weeks to see where you stand.
Action Steps
To improve your teachability, do the following:
- Observe how you react to mistakes – Do you admit your mistakes? Do you apologize when appropriate? Or are you defensive? Observe yourself. And ask a trusted friend’s opinion. If you react badly-or you make no mistakes at all- you need to work on your teachability.
- Try something new – Go out of your way today to do something different that will stretch you mentally, emotionally, or physically. Challenges change us for the better. If you really want to start growing, make new challenges part of your daily activities.
- Learn in your area of strength – Read six to twelve books a year on leadership or your field of specialization. Continuing to learn in an area where you are already an expert prevents you from becoming jaded and unteachable.
Take Away
After winning his third world championship, bull rider Tuff Hedeman didn’t have a big celebration. He moved to Denver to start a new season – and the whole process over again. His comment: “The bull won’t care what I did last week.” Whether you’re an untested rookie or a successful veteran, if you want to be a champion tomorrow, be teachable today.
Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)
Lessons from Life 