On Being Teachable
Do you have a teachable attitude?
John Maxwell says, ““Teachability” is not so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude. It is the desire to listen, learn, and apply. It is the hunger to discover and grow. It is the willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Here are Maxwell’s five tips for learning.
1. Learn to listen.As you go through each day, remember that you can’t learn if you’re always talking. As the old saying goes, “There’s a reason you have one mouth and two ears.” As we listen to others and remain humble, we learn things that can help expand ourwriting and speaking talent.
2. Understand the learning process.STEP 1: Act.STEP 2: Look for mistakes and evaluate.STEP 3: Search for a way to do it better.STEP 4: Go back to Step 1.Remember, the greatest enemy of learning is knowing. The goal of all learning is action, not knowledge.
3. Look for and plan for teachable moments.Finding opportunities to learn in everysituation will expand our talents to their potential.
4. Make every teachable moment count.Give your audience specific action steps to take that will help them implement what they have learned.
Encourage your audience to consider:
Points they need to think about
Changes they need to make
Lessons they need to apply
Information that they need to share
To know if you have a teachable spirit ask yourself the following questions:
Am I open to other people’s ideas?
Do I listen more than I talk?
Am I open to changing my opinion based on new information?
Do I readily admit when I am wrong?
Do I observe before acting on a situation?
Do I ask questions?
Am I willing to ask a question that will expose my ignorance?
Am I open to doing things in a way I haven’t done before?
Am I willing to ask for directions?
Do I act defensive when criticized, or do I listen openly for truth?
If you answered no to one or more of these questions, then there is room for growth in the area of a teachable attitude.
My husband shared two quotes from the legendary basketball coach John Wooden that prove he understood the significance of a teachable attitude. I keep thesetwo quotes in my office and they inspire my own teachable attitude. “Everything we know we learned from someone else!” “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
Maintaining a teachable attitude boils down to having a desire, a hunger, a willingness to learn. Just as God’s mercies are new everyday; I’m confident He will open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to the new things he wants to teach us and then provide the opportunities to share it with our audiences.Happy learning!
Zoe