What action step did you commit to last week? What were the results?
Do you have aspirations for the future? Do you desire to accomplish more in your life? Do you want to become better at what you do? Or become a better person? If so, do you know what value enables you to achieve these things? The answer is teachability. What does it mean to be teachable? It means intentionally choosing the attitude and behavior to keep learning and growing throughout life.
Some people want to be right, even when they aren’t. And as a result, life is difficult for them. They never find the pathway of learning nor do they learn the lessons life offers to those with a teachable spirit. Living to your potential requires you to keep learning and expanding yourself. In his book, Hiring for Attitude, Mark Murphy wrote about a study he conducted tracking twenty thousand people newly hired for their jobs. Nearly half of them were considered failures in their positions within the first eighteen months. The main reason was not lack of technical competence. The top reason for their failure was lack of teachability. They failed to demonstrate “the ability to accept and implement feedback from bosses, colleagues, customers, and others.”
Being teachable is a choice. You can choose to be open to new ideas, new experiences, feedback, and criticism. You can choose the pathway to a better future by developing a teachable spirit. Teachable people have an attitude that welcomes learning. Their hearts are open. Their minds are alert for something new. Their attitudes are expectant. They approach each day as an opportunity for another learning experience. Teachable people take responsibility for their own learning. When we are children, others are responsible for our learning and guide us along the way: our parents, our teachers, and our schools. As we get older, we must become intentional in our growth and choose to keep learning.
Teachable people are open to correction and criticism. When you’re teachable, you are willing to accept feed-back and criticism without defending yourself. You’re open to what others have to say. You even invite criticism from others, especially people you respect. Why? Because understanding your mistakes and where you fall short enables you to learn and get better. Teachable people are willing to try new things. The older people get, the more set they become in their ways and the less likely they are to venture into new territory. They are especially reluctant to do anything that makes them look or feel foolish. Teachable people fight that tendency.
TRANSFORMATION TABLES: TEACHABILITY CHANGEYOURWORLD.COM | © 2020 JOHN MAXWELL COMPANY, LLC
Teachability: stretch you mentally, emotionally, or physically, it challenges you to grow, change, and become better. If you want to keep getting better, you must pursue new challenges regularly.
Teachable people believe everyone can teach them something. Nobody knows everything, but everybody knows something. Teachable people keep these facts in mind and are open to learning not only from people who have greater status than they do, but also from others in more humble circumstances. Every person has something to share—a lesson learned, an observation, a life experience. You just need to be curious and willing to listen. If you want to keep learning and growing, improving in your career, developing new relationships, and finding joy in everyday life, embrace teachability.
Benefits
When you develop teachability, you experience the following benefits:
1. Teachable people are pleasant to be around.
2. Teachable people are humble and open to new ideas.
3. Teachable people listen to and learn from everyone.
4. Teachable people are willing and eager to change for the better.
5. Teachable people become more innovative because their thinking is challenged.
6. Teachable people don’t become jaded or cynical.
Steps To Follow
1. Let go of your pride. Pride is the enemy of teachability. Teachability requires you to admit that you don’t know everything. You must be willing to acknowledge that you make mistakes and are sometimes wrong. Make improvement more important to you than being right.
2. Cultivate a beginner mind-set. One of the best ways to embrace teachability is to approach as many things as you can as a beginner, not an expert. Beginners are open and humble. They lack rigidity. They don’t make assumptions or rely on preconceived ideas. As Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”
3. Invite others to speak into your life. It can be difficult to listen to someone criticizing you and telling you where you fall short, yet that is what you need to become a better person and to improve your skills. Seek out people who will kindly and honestly tell you about your shortcomings and how you can improve. Don’t defend yourself. Listen, learn, and make an effort to become better.
Reflect and Respond
Choose something you underlined that is important to you. Take one minute to tell everyone what you chose and why it