A man and a woman, both in business suits, standing looking at a whiteboard. The woman is teaching the man something

Learn this and you will go far, no matter what your field or chosen endeavor. Ignore it and you will never reach your fullest potential. Whatever your level of success or achievement, you will have fallen short of what you could’ve been.

I’ve seen more good folk stumble on this one. Smart people actually fail at this more often than others. But it is really, really simple!

Are you coachable? That’s it! Are you receptive to guidance? Do you listen to counsel?

I listened to an industry leader speak today. They are a principal, a partner, they could have a NYC corner office with a view. Instead, they choose to have a desk on the trading room floor, inches away from other traders. Why? Because they teach and mentor by listening in on the conversations around them. Often, they will go over and share: ‘You did good. Let me tell you about a few ways you could get better.’  

Most will start out attentive but all too often after 30 seconds or so their eyes will start to glaze over or wander over longingly to their cell phone. They will no doubt make a good living. The ones who stay focused? Vacuum up every shred of wisdom? Don’t get their feelings hurt? Get a bruised ego? They are most likely the stars of tomorrow.

Most coaching tips are about small things, tiny even (the big ones tend to be obvious!). Even though intellectually we may know that ‘success is the sum of small efforts’ it is still easy to get emotional, defensive, or feel picked on, even unfairly singled out. The ability to rise above those petty but all too common human responses is a superpower well worth cultivating.

So, ditch the resistance, lose the ego, stay coachable.

Closing Quotes:

“You must always be the apprentice even when you are the master.” – Christopher Crumby

“My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.” – Michael Jordan

“(O)ne of the most important qualities of many really successful people is humility. If you have a degree of humility about you, you have the ability to take advice, to be coachable, teachable.” – Todd Blackledge

As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier