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Episode 337: Coachability is a Competitive Advantage · The Growth Project

• 0:00
  You.
• 0:03
  Hello and welcome to the Growth Project. I am Doctor Milt Lauter, joined today by Doctor Drew Brannon.
• 0:10
  What's up? Good to be here. Always enjoy it. So for those of you new to this podcast, it's called The Growth Project. It's sponsored, written and produced by employers. We are a, I guess, small performer psychology practice and located in Greenville, South Carolina, who work within the world of college sports and elite athletes as well as corporate America in all things, helping people be better and pursue better.
• 0:36
  You know, our goal and aim is to optimize who you are and what you do, to make sure that you don't, as John would like to say, get too busy making a living. You forget about making a life. We like to bring these aspects of psychological skills and leadership and development and all these, factors of high performance to you.
• 0:58
  So you can figure out how to put them to practice into your life. And so today, a topic we really want to talk about is coach ability. You hear that word all the time.
• 1:06
  Drew. And I thought it would be good to have a conversation around how to become more coachable, what it is, why is it so important?
• 1:13
  And so drew, when you hear the word coach ability, why do you think that's so important in today's world?
• 1:19
  I just don't know a context in which it doesn't matter, truly. I mean, you think about what's the word ubiquitous. I don't use that word a whole lot. Ubiquitous. But this is truly a ubiquitous, construct, whether you're talking about I mean, think about your kids.
• 1:36
  What do you hope your kids will be, amongst other things, coachable or your kids be coachable? Certainly in sports, it's got, you know, an obvious application there and then, heck, in the world of, corporate America and all the industries that we work in, this comes up all the time. You think about like, if and when someone on a team is maybe getting into some hot water and they're having some can some degree of concern about like, is he or she going to make it?
• 2:02
  What's a common reason why people lose patience. People on teams, they're not coachable. Yeah. And then on the other side of that coin of like when they're making hiring decisions about who they're welcoming to the team, we work in hiring a bunch. And this comes up again and again and again where people will ask the question of like, hey, is he coachable?
• 2:19
  Will he be coachable? How coachable is he this this is a topic that is prevalent in all facets of life at all places in the lifespan. You know, I think it's one that we often overlook when I think about parents and their children. While we want them to be coachable, the pressure parents put on their children to be successful often comes in conflict with being coachable.
• 2:40
  Yeah. You know, especially you think about youth sports like we try to make it all about that one child and we've undermined the coach, we've undermined authority, we've undermined those in leadership positions. And so this tension of we know very few people who have, quote unquote, been successful, who have not been coachable.
• 2:57
  Yeah. You know, there's a very, very Manu few who have the talent, the skill set, the man with who aren't coachable, who are, were not, maybe at least coachable in one form or fashion.
• 3:08
  Yeah, but word of warning, don't let that be your example. Yes. Like don't let that be your model. Because overwhelmingly those that are not coachable pay the price for it. Well, the good news is they probably aren't listening to this podcast. They probably already have it all figured out. Yeah. So I think just as we're talking about how relevant this topic is for our listeners out there, as we go through this conversation here in the coming minutes, we would recommend you think about how we're framing this across all facets of your life.
• 3:37
  Don't just think about your professional identity, although think about your professional Danny. Don't just think about that. Think about your personal life. Think about how this applies in all the roles that you play in your life. And, and, and I think that's the right place. It's you. Right? Is so easy to listen to something like this and. Right.
• 3:54
  I mean, I'm even thinking, so we're putting together about my my wife or my children or people that I work with or clients of ours. Are they coach or not? And the, the first one I got to look at is me. How coachable am I? And then we can talk about how to look for and develop credibility in other.
• 4:09
  So so let's define it at least when you when you think about coach ability, how would you define or describe a person who is coachable? I think it's, you know, different varying definitions of what we're going to go with for the purposes of our conversation is a readiness and willingness to learn, adapt and change based upon feedback. So in other words, like this is the degree to which a person is pliable, moldable and changeable based upon feedback that they're receiving, which can come in many, many forms.
• 4:44
  Right. And we'll get into feedback. But as you hear that word feedback, I think often times we really kind of just restrict that to like, hey, so-and-so over here popped up one day and told me X and that is feedback. Yeah, but you know what else provides feedback? Life. Just the turning in the events of life where you're getting results of some type.
• 5:06
  Maybe you're not getting results of some type like that's feedback. So it's a willingness to just pay attention to what life is also throwing at you. Yeah. And so then, as you said, a study being open and willing to pay attention is okay. Am I going to implement any ideas or or like what I've learned? Yeah. You know, like, hey, I can be open to it and I can listen to it and I can try to try to pay attention to what's going on.
• 5:30
  But being coachable means I'm going to take action, whether it's life, give me that feedback or a peer or a child or a friend or a or a colleague or a coach or a leader, like, I'm going to put something to action. I care enough about you and about me that I'm going to put I'm going to take action on it.
• 5:47
  Yeah. And we're going to do that in greater detail as we go. But that that's an interesting point too, because if someone is providing feedback to someone and they're saying maybe verbally that they're in agreement, but they're not doing anything about it, well, they mustn't agree too much. Right? Because they're not they're not agreeing enough to take action.
• 6:06
  Yes. Not just acquiesce. And it's taken action on on what I've learned. And I think to me, you know, the traits we keep talking about that pop up all the time that I think describe someone who is coachable. One is used to that openness and willingness to change and adapt. But to me, what are some of those traits?
• 6:22
  Curiosity, humility, vulnerability, those things that really lead to being coachable and they're interested in getting better. They aren't interested in perfection. Yeah. Or being right all the time. Yeah. They're always kind of just focused on improving and they're willing to learn from everyone. I think that when I think about people that are coachable, it's not just able. This person is an expert to them.
• 6:45
  Like, I'm going to pay attention to other people and learn what to do and what not to do. Yeah, like that's somebody who's coachable, right. And and from our perspective, these people are so much fun to work with. Yeah. Well they're so much fun to work with. And then that'll kind of like lead us into a little bit of talking about like why this matters.
• 7:02
  And why it's so important. They're extremely fun to work with. They're extremely good for your team. Yeah. You know, how do you create a culture or within a team or an organization of learners and of people who are humble enough? You get enough people in there who are coachable. It's amazing how infectious this can be and how it spreads.
• 7:21
  When you have people who are living this way and how people who maybe are sitting across the table take notice of that. You know, I just started smiling because I think about our core values. You know, all of that kind of really describe someone who might be coachable, right. Growth in terms of a growth mindset and wants to grow, hustle.
• 7:41
  They're willing to get after it. But some work in humility. They're willing to ask for help and they're willing to be a part of a team. Team, you know, and understanding their strengths. I never thought about that until I heard you say, those are the kind of people we not only enjoy working with as clients, but it's who we want to invite to be a part of our team.
• 7:56
  Yeah, so it absolutely has a massive value out on your team. I think another while we're on that topic of like, why it matters, you know, the lie, unfortunately, that many people have bought, too many people have bought along the way out there when it comes to growth and aspirational goals. And that type of thing is that they can do it on their own.
• 8:16
  Yeah, that you can kind of like I mean, I'm not a big fan of this term, but it comes up a bunch self-actualize or optimize or whatever it is that you can do those things in a independent contractor or lone wolf type model, you know, hate to break it to you. It's not how it works. Yeah, we try to buy into that in America especially.
• 8:35
  And to me, I firmly believe that growth and greatness cannot occur in isolation. I say that all that as well as selfish ambition. Yeah, but you I can't think of a self-made man or woman that I know of that didn't have other people believe in them, encourage them, challenge them, mold them, shape them, help develop them along the way.
• 8:56
  Yeah. And and then I you know, and I've had conversations like that before with people that maybe want to push back at least a little bit on that, which I'm always okay with that. There's an additional kind of caveat I've also added to it that goes like this. Those that maybe have, you know, who you want to argue have found a way to do this on their own.
• 9:17
  But were they happy in the end? And that's that's the caveat of like, okay, if there's this outlier example, if ever this is who wasn't that coachable and yet became and was on their own and became this like you know, elite lately. Okay, I don't know who that is. But if that person's out there, were they happy at the end and without it okay.
• 9:36
  Yeah. So there's a journaling, hey, somebody who has a chance to be successful in their own and by themselves versus people that are coachable. But I'm saying people that who like that fully maximized top out became the best they possibly could on their own. Yeah. If that's somehow true somewhere, I have a hard time believing they're happy at the end.
• 9:58
  And it came at the extent and cost of something that's happened to other people. Yeah, yeah, I gotcha carnage in way in the wake, that type of thing. Yeah. So it's in terms of why it matters. It is in a necessary ingredient for us becoming our best. However you define that, you just can't do it on your own.
• 10:17
  Yeah. I think, you know, when we think about coach ability, we think about having a has into self-awareness, right. In order to be coachable. And why that matters is high levels of self-awareness, lead to and the research supports. And you can help me out with this a higher level of job satisfaction, a higher level of enjoyment, a higher level of skill development, more productive, more efficient, more effective at their work, in their jobs.
• 10:43
  And so part of being coachable is really having a high level of self-awareness about what my strengths are and what they aren't. Yeah. And how do I get along well with others and how how do I impact others, and how do I connect with others and what gets in the way? Yeah, all of that. And it's you know, it's interesting how that operates, right?
• 11:00
  Because you think like, oh, well, something like self-awareness. Why does that matter so much? I mean, think about all the application you just made right there of how it benefits us and what we do personally and professionally. Hugely impactful, but we're not very good at it. We think we're great at it, but we aren't that good at being self-aware, which has a lot to do with why we tend not to be coachable.
• 11:22
  You know, like it's it's a extremely normal thing for two people to get into a conversation, maybe about a topic they need some coaching on, and one person begins to get defensive and the other person maybe ask them, hey, why are you getting defensive? I'm not. Yeah, right. I'm not going. And they really don't think they are. Yeah, because they lack the awareness needed to know that or even why.
• 11:43
  Like even asking the question that way immediately suggests you should be doing something different. Yeah. So even how we ask the question and so, you know, as we think about what Coach Billy is, we've talked a little bit about why it's so important, what gets in the way, what prevents one from being coachable. Many of the same things that get in the way of us being aware, quite honestly, the pace at which we move, the charmed way we like to or prefer to think of ourselves, the ways in which we've been esteemed in the past, and we've kind of only latched on to that type of language and that type of, feedback and
• 12:16
  maybe not given as much of a, a look at the constructive criticism that we've gotten. So we just, we've kind of built we people are quick to build, a persona, whether it's conscious or unconscious of themselves in a really positive light. And if you're seeing yourself that way, you don't see the need for coaching. Oftentimes, you know, I think it's somewhat the way we we shape and look at our career development and our personal development, that the longer you do something, the longer you live, the older you are, the more expert you're supposed to be should be,
• 12:55
  the pressure it puts on someone to have all the answers. You know how many times we see leaders at a senior level not be very coach because they're in the senior level. They're in the C-suite because you're supposed to have all the answers, right? And and so that pressure to really know it all really is incompatible with a coach ability mindset.
• 13:14
  Yeah. You're you're not that same person who feels like he or she needs to have the answers. Yes. Isn't going to be real quick to go pursue help. Yeah. Yeah. You're trying to receive it. Yeah. Those layers of I have to have all the answers. I should know what I'm doing. I should be the expert. And I think if we're honest, you and I can feel that pressure.
• 13:32
  We've been doing this for 20 something years now. That that you think you can fall into the trap, that, hey, your way works or your way should work, or you should know more than you know. Yep. And I think that kind of when you're young, it's okay to ask questions.
• 13:47
  I was talking to somebody last week about young people breaking into this business, that I will speak to this gentleman about.
• 13:53
  He said, yeah, I think when you're in your 20s you need to ask a lot of questions. People will love to help you when you're in your 20s, but in your 30s, they start seeing you as competition. And and and they don't they don't want to see you as competition. They don't want investing you, they don't want to coach you.
• 14:07
  And so it's even setting that up is hey I'm coachable in my 20s when I'm really learning and growing. But now that I'm in the field I don't need to be coachable. I need to be confident. And, and those constructs are not mutually exclusive. Yes. Yeah. But we almost kind of make them less. Yeah, yeah. That if I'm confident that I maybe don't need to be.
• 14:27
  Yeah. Coachable. Yeah. So let's walk through kind of the sequence of this of kind of how this comes together and what it looks like of the person who's coachable is doing this pretty well. The person who wants to be more coachable would would be wise to understand how it fits together, because I do think there's a real a clear kind of like sequence in which this this operates.
• 14:49
  So let's jump into it. Beginning with so where did what creates the fertile ground for someone to be coachable. Yeah. So so I guess the foundation that we're really talking about, the lens that you really need to develop around coach to build on is that growth mindset. Yep. And and to me, when we talk, we've talked so much about our growth mindset and really born out of that achievement goal theory.
• 15:14
  But work and her colleagues. But to me why that is so important, it sets the foundation. Is this belief really that better never rest that that I can always improve. I can always learn. I can always get better. Progress is one of my favorite words. Yeah. And a fundamental principle of those with a growth mindset. You know, it's how we interpret success and failure.
• 15:37
  It's how we interpret mistakes. And I think people with a growth mindset or more likely to be coachable because you're, as you said, the cost of learning from everything around them, they're constantly paying attention and they're willing to learn. I think about Tiger Woods on the golf course at his prom, like he would go ask Brad Fox and he would go, great putter.
• 15:56
  He would go seek a short game. Help he would. Whoever was better at something, he was so curious and willing to grow and learn and implement that into his game. Know. Yeah. So like here's the connection I've always made there when it comes to growth is how do you how do you grow? How does anything grow. You add to it.
• 16:15
  Right. And so like you think about the most comp, one of the more common ways you think about adding to in the world is like eating, right? So you eat, you add when you eat, you know, that's how that works. I'm not a nutritionist, but I know how that works. And so these growth mindset people what's unique about they're hungry.
• 16:32
  Yes. They're really, really hungry. Hungry for help. Hungry for knowledge, hungry for information for facts. They're hungry for anything that's out there that will help them develop. And what they aren't doing is, is sitting back and being like a real critical consumer as much about like, oh, well, what could what can I possibly learn from her? Yes. She's only been here for a year.
• 16:54
  Yeah, well, what can I possibly learn from him? He's an undergraduate student. Or like, they don't do that. No. They avoid labeling themselves and others, but they separate who they are from what they do. That's being coachable means I'm not so closely tied to my position. I've separated my ego from my performance. And so they don't label themselves.
• 17:14
  They don't label others. And I think those labels oftentimes set limits on our own growth and what we're willing to learn from others. Yeah. And there's no question it does. Okay. So let's let's keep walking this pathway. So what we're saying is what creates the fertile ground, what really gives us an opportunity and a chance to to be good in this arena begins with mindset.
• 17:33
  Yeah. So we have this growth mindset. Then we build into what's our next step on this pathway here to me. And maybe they go hand in hand. But but I think it's a sense of humility. Yeah. And and and we both love that definition from C.S. Lewis about what humility really is. He says true humility is not thinking less of yourself.
• 17:54
  It's thinking of yourself less. And so to me, the right is of humility. It's not a false it's of humility that we see a lot. It's not a false sense of self-deprecation that we often see, this false air of humility. It's a really sense and grounded in I really know who I am. I know what my strengths are.
• 18:13
  I think I know where I can add value, but I also know there's so much left for me to learn. Yeah, yeah, that I'm willing to, submit is the word that comes to mind, but that's not the right word. It's. I'm willing to ask for help. I'm willing to learn. To me, that that's the proper sense of humility.
• 18:34
  Yeah. So let's play that out, because this this can be real interesting. And we've seen examples that are good examples that are not so good of you can have an extremely growth oriented mindset. So take the individual who just devours books and devours podcasts and racks up all these points in a given year that it would just blow you away.
• 18:53
  It's like, how could anybody possibly have that much time to pursue growth? Well, believe it or not, this person is doing that. However, what do they not have? Humility. Yeah. And it's it's it's fascinating to see how if you were to kind of like go down the, the tunnel of pursuing this growth mindset related stuff and come out on the other side, do you find yourself thinking more highly of yourself?
• 19:23
  Yeah. Or do you find yourself thinking having an even greater realization of all the things you don't have mastered? Of all the things you don't know? I think that's the person who's really grown the right way, is they realize that gap, that a huge gap that exists between who they are and who they want to be. Right. That's the humility that.
• 19:41
  Yes. Yeah. Because we've both seen people who are like, you know, growth mindset gurus, but it's in a sense where all these things they're doing are just making them feel better about themselves. They're so proud that they're able to. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. So proud that they're able to do it. And that humility is the antidote to that. Yeah.
• 20:00
  And that's why as we walk through this, that's why it's you can't just have one of these. No. Like people who are highly coachable. They have all of these
• 20:08
  the growth mindset tempered with humility. Right. That set you up for success. So you have both of those what we what do we think is the next thing you really need to have to to be coachable.
• 20:18
  Once you've got the growth mindset you've got the humility, then you've got to have a sense of urgency, right? You've got to get moving. Although it's it's great. It's a great beginning to have the mindset. We want to also have the humility and be willing to look honestly at yourself and acknowledge your weaknesses, your flaws, your limitations, whatever they might be.
• 20:37
  But if the process of doing that doesn't, then trigger action. Yeah, we don't change, right? Like you don't. It's the equivalent of the the player in the sports arena who, when he receives coaching doesn't get defensive but then also doesn't get any better. Yeah. Right. So that's not the goal here. The goal is to improve and develop and grow.
• 21:04
  And so we've got to use the humility to then get moving. We've got to engage in the actions. Yeah. And so so awareness without action we always say leads you're worse off than you were before. And so so we talk about being coachable and that that sense of self-awareness that is necessary. But but if I don't put that into practice and I'm not very coach but I'm just passive.
• 21:22
  Yeah. And I may be curious. I may be humble, I may have a growth mindset, but I'm not putting that anything into practice. Yeah. I mean, if, if let's just make it up, like if you, if Sally consistently walks into her, her big presentations without having enough awareness or knowledge about the customer is great as it is for her supervisor to have a conversation with her and give her that direct feedback and her receive it.
• 21:49
  If she keeps walking into presentations, having not prepped well enough, maybe you could say she's coachable, but she's not doing a whole lot with the information. Yeah, she's not coachable. She's open to information. Yeah, right. She's just a passive recipient. What that what Sally would be doing in that case is what so many of us do. It's hard to quit doing what works for us.
• 22:10
  Yeah. And so it's hard to change because Sally's got to this stage, her career, by doing what she's always done. And and very seldom does she have that sense of urgency to go with this newfound awareness. And she might say, yeah, you're right, but then there's no action. What? Yeah, there's no there's no actual demonstration of, hey, I'm working on this.
• 22:29
  Yeah. Like I'm taking action on this, this information that I've now seen about myself. And I think the people that can take an idea and implement that idea, like, like I talked about all the time how like, I want to be quicker at implementing the ideas that I have, but they have to be consistent with the growth of and plus the growth of myself, what we're trying to accomplish.
• 22:50
  But this sense of urgency means it's not only a level of respect for the coach, it's a level of respect for the process. Yeah. And the difficulty of the process. Yeah. It's hard. Yeah. But that's a good point to have. I think that's because if you're the coach in this equation and today's more about being coachable and less about coaching, but that is how the coach ultimately begins to feel as if like if I'm giving you this feedback and although you're receiving it well, you're not getting to work on it.
• 23:16
  I'm gonna get frustrated. Yeah, I'm going to feel like either you don't think I know what I'm talking about or you don't care. Yeah. Or both. Yeah. And I think as the coach, they can't care more than you care. Right? But they can't work harder than you work. And that's what being coachable is. I'm going to match the efforts.
• 23:30
  What I try to tell my children, you know, my expectation of you is you got to match the effort that is taking your mother out to provide you the experiences that you want to have. And that's hard for them to do. But but at least come close. Yeah. Right. That's being coachable and that's respecting what we're talking about.
• 23:46
  Yeah. You need at least see the attempt to do that. Yeah. It's not perfect. Yeah.
• 23:50
  And then the last piece that we talk about all the time dude being coachable means I'm going to learn to hold myself accountable. And I'm going to be let you hold me accountable. You know so as we lay out the framework the foundation I hear some gaps that exist.
• 24:04
  I the sense of humility that comes with, I don't know what all I need some help. I'm curious about what you have to offer. Hey here's a good action plan. Here's the things we're going to do in a 30, 60, 90 days to really see if you're making progress. That last piece of being coachable is learning to be held accountable.
• 24:20
  Yep. Which is huge. Because like, let's go back to our example here of, you know, maybe you do have that growth mindset where you're able like you want to be better, you're hungry, right? You're hungry to improve. You've gotten the feedback, you were humble about it and and you moved into action. But guess what? The things you're doing to close the gap aren't working as well as you want them to, nor are they working as well as other people around you want them to.
• 24:48
  So guess what? You might need to do it differently. Yeah, like you might have to come up with a different plan, a new plan. You might have to do it. You might need to do more of whatever the thing is that you're doing. So like, you've got to be willing to be held accountable if the thing that you're doing in an effort to, to change isn't working.
• 25:05
  So maybe we would add adaptable and accountable. That goes back to your open definition of opening definition of of of coach ability. Hey, a willingness an openness to change, a willingness to adapt and implement, and a willingness to be held accountable. That is maybe what I'm thinking about is I am going to create a conversation, a connection of follow up.
• 25:26
  How am I doing? How can we be objective? I'm going to get your feedback and say, is this working or not work? And if not, I'm willing to adjust and adapt the game plan. Yep. Well, and I think what's embedded in all of this is, is the relationship, obviously, because part of the accountability piece is you're willing to realize and recognize that it can't always just happen on your terms.
• 25:49
  Like it can't just be about how you want to get better, how you want to grow. Like you've got to be willing to be to submit to some degree of accountability from someone else. Yeah. And I think to me, accountable in this sense of being coachable is accountable to the organization. Yeah. You know, whether you're in a sports arena or whether you're in a family or whether you're in a corporate setting at work, accountability means, hey, the role we need you to play is this right?
• 26:14
  And you may be great at this, but the role this team has for you in this moment is for this. And so I'm gonna submit to that. I'm gonna get feedback on whether that's working or not. To me, that's being accountable not only to my own progress, but to the goals of the organization.
• 26:30
  All right. Just to review there, let's make sure we have this whole sequence in place because for our listeners, it's really important that we're clear on this. And we have this framework down. But it's this growth mindset is where it all begins.
• 26:42
  Yes. Then you've got to have the humility to receive these things. Well, right. Then you got to get moving and then you've got to be willing to be held accountable. But that's the pathway. And if you go back and you look at people in the in easy way to illustrate, this is like if you think right now come up with someone in your mind who you would say, this person is really coachable and I've known him for a while, or I've worked with them, or maybe I know my personal life, I can almost guarantee you that these things we just went through, these are all the things that they're doing.
• 27:12
  Yeah. With consistency. Yeah. I got I'm running through my list of people in my mind, and in that sense to curiosity, that to to humility, that sense of growth. That's, that's kind of where it starts.
• 27:26
  just wanna say one last thing on just how prized of a, of a characteristic this is, right?
• 27:29
  Because like, I can think of a big hiring project that we're a part of right now with a big company who's trying to hire a bunch of people quickly. And no one's asked me at any point, to what degree do I think this candidate is smart? And no one's ever ask me how smart they are. Yeah, no one's ever asked me.
• 27:48
  You know how critical of a thinker they are. How good of a problem. No, none of that. Tons. People have asked me how coachable I think these people are and, like, that's what people are looking for. I mean, we're getting ready to start for you and and for us, the football kickoffs, the preseason meetings. And I can promise you, as we look at our player personnel, there's a there's a question on every player how coachable they've been.
• 28:11
  What are they coachable. We aren't looking at, you know the talent opens the door. But Bill Parcells said character gets you the other side. I think today we're making a pretty good argument. It's coachable. Coachable. Yeah,
• 28:23
  You know so let's think about drew. If I want to start and create this mindset of how do I become more coachable and kind of lay it out here, the four, things you really need to pay attention to the foundations of being coachable.
• 28:34
  But but for some like, hey, to be honest, I haven't been very coachable. I've been doing this for a long time. Where do we store? What are a couple of suggestions as we wrap up to to start becoming more coachable, you might need to go apologize to somebody. Honestly. Yeah, you might need to start with that. You might need to think about, okay, what are the examples in my life where maybe I haven't been real coachable and, you know, maybe that hasn't necessarily triggered tension and conflict and that type of stuff.
• 29:03
  But if it has, you might want to start there quite honestly, because it's more than likely that's that has happened. Yeah. And it's so easy I think to play the victim game here. We see a lot of people play the victim and they might well this person is just not a very good coach or they're critical or they're this or that, that we don't take ownership until I love this piece.
• 29:22
  If you haven't been coachable, take some ownership of it. Yeah. Great place to start. Yeah. So I think that's a logical place to start. And then you know, I think beyond that, what do you do next? If you want to just start asking people like, like if you haven't been real coachable there probably there's probably a long line of people waiting to give you feedback because they're not false.
• 29:45
  You might need to start asking for some feedback, even in just small ways. Just simple things like, hey, I'm kind of working through this thing right here. And you know, this is what I think a reasonable plan is like, what do you think? Yet not even not even my it's the reasonable plan. Yeah. I'm trying to work through this.
• 30:01
  What what what would you recommend? Yeah. What do you think? Yeah, yeah. What do you think? That's such an empowering word to someone. And and they may be hasn't given that information based on. Have you responded their feedback in the past. Right. And so hey, I really mean it this time. And I'm trying to get better. I'm trying to grow.
• 30:17
  What do you think about this? What what advice would you have? Where would you start?
• 30:21
  Basic open ended questions. Yeah. And so in the spirit we want you to asset with is a sense of curiosity and vulnerability. Yeah. Big word. Like it's so hard to be vulnerable, especially in today's world, because you don't want to be seen as less than.
• 30:37
  Yeah, but that admitting vulnerability, admitting you don't have all the answers, admitting that you need help can be. So we're empowering to the people around you, you know? And you know, let's think about this. Maybe some people are listening to this right now who are even like earlier in their career. This is a massive like, if you can do this honestly and develop a good, positive kind of brand for yourself and reputation for yourself in this space, what a differentiator.
• 31:05
  What is being coachable? Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean like how many doors open up for. Yeah. I mean news flash there are a million smart people out there. Like there's there's a million people smarter than you. So not, you know, there's a lot more. There's a lot more than that. There are so many people out there who are smarter, faster, like, you know, like, if that's the arena.
• 31:25
  Yeah. If that's the arena in which you're trying to win, good luck. I love the title. You just came up with my mind coach ability as a competitive advantage. Yeah. Like like, you know, if you want to be if you want to stand out, focus on being coachable. Yeah. Like this is a space where you can be highly competitive.
• 31:43
  Yeah I love that idea. And that coachable means okay I'm going to create also invite the right people to be on my team with where I am right now. I coach building means I'm open to everybody, but sometimes it is. I got to find the right teammate. I got to get the right people in the bus, people that believe in me, people that encourage me and not just criticize me.
• 32:02
  People that want what's best for me, that aren't in competition with me. Those are the kind of people, people that have that growth mindset, that sense of curiosity that are interested. Not interesting. So, so that piece is so important. But I love creating coach ability as a competitive advantage. I mean, that's why teams implode oftentimes. Yes. I mean senior leadership teams that don't make it.
• 32:24
  It's normally not because they didn't have enough degrees in the room or expert experience in the room. It's because they couldn't get along. Yeah. So they can't get along because they're so proud and so defensive of what they're responding. My corner of the universe. That's right. Yeah. That they aren't Will. And they don't exhibit these characteristics that we're talking about okay I know we got to move to a close.
• 32:44
  So hopefully again as we started just a, relevant word in construct across all facets of life, all facets of life. So hopefully you can find some some areas to put this into practice immediately. But as you said yeah, start with you start with yourself. Yeah. Don't don't forward this podcast to the ten people you think in your life could could use some guidance on being more coachable to start with you.
• 33:08
  That's where I'm laughing. I was like, man, this would be a really good one to be. Do as I say, not as I did. But yeah, I hope it hits home for our audience. I hope it's relevant. If you have any questions, please submit them. If you want some follow up conversations. And also, if you don't mind, given us review liking us, I think that's what you're supposed to do.
• 33:27
  We appreciate you listening to Growth Project and hope this contributed to your life and helping you be better and pursue better.