Good morning,
In my last letter, we had hung out with your boss, talked about your future and how you want to progress. After sending this to you, I realised that I breezed past a really important skill that will make the previous advice easier. In this letter, we are going to look at how being coachable could really help you succeed.
I am going to, therefore, take a bit of time out of our usual scheduled programing to explain the hidden superpower of coachability. The dictionary definition of being coachable is: capable of being easily taught and trained to do something better. Sounds simple right? It technically is, but it also has the habit of deceptively tripping even the most motivated people up.
Being Coachable is one of those skills that has layers. Meaning, the more comfortable you become at being coached, the easier you can notice times where you could have been better at it!
Okay, so why should you aim to be more coachable? I appreciate that you are all very busy people and it must seem that I am raving about a new idea you need to try in every letter you receive from me! Coachability is how as Issac Newton said you can stand “on the shoulders of Giants“. It allows us to use all of the information already acquired from other peoples experiences and apply it to our own lives!
Furthermore, the ability to take coaching from your boss is one of the simplest and easiest ways to improve your career. They are telling you what you need to do to progress, all you need to do is become that person!
The difficulty with coaching is in how it can make us feel. The whole point of it is to reveal, like some vicious wound, the areas we are not currently succeeding in! This can be quite damaging to the perception we have of ourselves, especially if it shatters the suit of armour we have put around ourself to protect our fragile egos.
When learning about areas we can improve, our minds may try to protect us by countering any undesirable points with reasons we either do not want to or can not develop in that way. Our brains may even try to persuade us that our managers don’t actually know what they are talking about and we are already good enough as it is!
Lets apply some solid breaks to those thoughts, my friends. Don’t let your overprotective brains make fools out of you. This is a trick it will play to avoid feelings of ineptitude and worthlessness; it will step in and numb yourself against any attempts to face your weaknesses head-on. Remember that in the nicest way, the people giving you advice, are doing so because they think you have areas that could be improved, and importantly believe you can do it!
Let knowledgeable people, who have more experience teach and coach you to become a wiser and stronger person. Allow your boss to coach you and you may find yourself as a prime candidate for that next promotion. Not a bad prospect, eh?
Yours sincerely,
Ryan Rose-Blanc
Rose-Blanc Town management
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