Hey Coach, Are You Coachable?

I spend a lot of time talking about the fact that leaders need to have a great set of coaching tools in their tool box.

But what about leaders being coached?

Most of my colleagues would agree that the quality of the coaching a person is able to deliver has a direct correlation to how coachable they are.

Five Characteristics of a Coachable Leader

Committed to improvement. Coachable Leaders know they’re not perfect, want to improve, exhibit responsibility for their lives, and are willing to step outside their comfort zones and remain there for some time.

Open to information about themselves. Coachable Leaders are willing and able to listen to and hear feedback without being defensive; accept acknowledgement and then synthesize the new information with their own personal reflections on the issue.

Open about themselves. Coachable Leaders are willing to engage in topics and conversations that may be uncomfortable, but that are essential for their own professional development; talks about “what’s really going on” to create a complete and honest picture of the total situation.

Appreciate new perspectives. Coachable Leaders get excited about hearing someone else’s experiences and are curious enough to figure out how to learn and improve from them.

Awareness about one’s self and others. Coachable leaders have at least a fair amount of awareness about themselves. Equally important, are able to recognize their impact on the people around them and to reflect on their own behavior in a way that allows them to learn and grow.

So, Mr. or Ms. Leader, how receptive are your people to your coaching? Maybe it has something to do with how coachable you are? How well are you doing each of these five things? What gets in the way of these five things for you?