A proverb says that only stupid men learn from experience. Wise men learn from other people’s experience. The education I received sitting at Mobley’s feet was priceless, but it would never have happened if I had not been coachable.
Coachable people all share five distinct character traits.
The first trait is humility. Humility teaches that there are things we need to do that we cannot do on our own. Only humility can teach us that the most important things we need to learn require fundamental changes in our behavior and outlook. Humility itself, for example, can’t be attained by reading a book or taking a class. Humility requires a change of heart rather than a change of mind. Working with Mobley was a humbling experience, and if humility was the only thing I learned it was more than enough.
The second trait that coachable people share is an action bias. Lou Mobley was a saint, but if I hadn’t been willing to get off my ass I never would’ve found him.