How to Grow Your Executive Career by Being a Coachable Candidate

Coachability does not apply only to athletes. The most successful job candidates are open to lifelong learning and the opportunity to be coached in their new roles.

This means you!

Traits of Coachable Candidates

Coachability is at the top of employers’ hiring requirements. Being coachable is a mindset. You must be able to reflect on your behavior and instigate change as needed.

Key hallmarks of coachable candidates include:

• Higher motivation: This means making an exceptional commitment to your new company and to your own career progression.
• Better performance: You must be focused on consistently hitting targets and timelines, along with increasing productivity.
• Improved knowledge: Coachable individuals have shorter learning curves, sharper skills and more innovative ideas.
• Humility: Coachability requires a willingness to hear and learn from constructive criticism. You must be open to hearing uncomfortable information about yourself without becoming defensive. This means talking candidly about what’s really going on so that your coaches have an honest, complete picture of your situation. Humility teaches you that there are things you need to do that you cannot achieve on your own. The reality is: the most important things you need to learn require fundamental changes in your behavior and outlook.
• Commitment to change: This is a realization that you are not perfect, coupled with a relentless desire to improve. Be receptive to trying new things and considering ideas that take you outside your comfort zone.
• Appreciation of new perspectives: Ask for the opinions of others and learn from this feedback. Feel excitement about hearing someone else’s take on a problem and applying this insight to a viable solution.
• Awareness of self and others: Maintain self-confidence – and use it to reflect on your behavior and how it impacts others.
• Willingness to surrender control: You only get results if you give up control, not the other way around. An unwillingness to surrender control is the single biggest reason that most authentic changes are precipitated by crises. The reason most people need a coach in the first place is to learn to let go of control.
• Faith: The benefits of change often become obvious only after the fact. Hindsight alone is 20/20.

Are You Ready for Executive Coaching?

Consider these coachability factors and self-assess to see if you meet them. You are probably ready to start working with a professional career coach. BrainWorks specializes in working with executive candidates to help them achieve their short- and long-term career goals. Contact us today to set up your initial consultation.