Being teachable is one of the most important attributes I look for when I work with a client. If you’re not teachable, I can’t help you.
If your a leader and you’re not teachable, then you think you know it all. you think you understand everything. You believe you have nothing left to learn and no where to grow. Firstly this is utter nonsense and secondly, it leads to huge under performance of you and your team.
Teachability is imperative to move forward in life and If you’re not teachable, then now is the best it’s ever going to get! You need to be able to change and grow in order to succeed, especially in a team.
- Teachability enables good conflict. Conflict is important and necessary for organisations. If we understand that we don’t know everything then we are OK with people having differing views. We are OK with people challenging us and questioning decisions. If we allow conflict it helps us to find better, more robust solutions.
- Teachability enables good communication. If we know that others may know things we don’t then we are able to listen. We choose to hear and engage with knowledge others may have that we don’t. If we think we know it all then what do we need to listen for, and people that don’t get heard, stop trying and often move on.
- Teachability makes room for improvement. We can only get better if we are willing to take on information and learn skills that we don’t have. We can only do that if we realise we don’t have those skills. Without being teachable, we will never improve and whether you like, believe it or want it, the truth is you are not the complete package, so you can either choose to accept that and get better or stagnate and get left behind.
- Teachability leads to success. Without constant improvement, without conflict to challenge our assumptions and make robust decisions, without two way, open communication we cannot succeed. We need a growth mindset and this means we are teachable.
If you’re the smartest person in the room and you know everything, firstly you need to realise you’re not the smartest person in the room and you don’t know everything and secondly, you need start thinking about how you can be better at learning and growing and allowing others to help you.