Are you Coachable?

01 Apr

In a fast changing environment, old habits (and skills) die hard.  For technical workers in particular, learning new skills and being able to accept coaching is the key to their career’s longevity and success.

From an employer’s perspective, identifying the most coachable candidates is vital to finding a match between client and candidate. After all, not everyone has every skill a job requires, but those who’re willing to learn are the best to have on board. Here’s how to define and identify that important trait in candidates.

Coachability in a professional context means that an employee is able and willing to learn a new skill, process or system that is necessary for the job. Coachability also means that the employee is able to correct or adjust behaviour based on feedback.

The Harvard Business Review outlines two keys for identifying if a candidate can be coached: commitment and capacity. It’s not enough that employees want to learn.
They have to have the foundation skills to build on.

It’s easier to see aspects of capacity upfront. You can review some of the skills that are transferrable regardless of area, and ask questions about them during interviews.
You can measure capacity through on-site assessments or assignments as well. This doesn’t mean that you can comprehensively verify capacity upfront, but you can at least spot some clues in past history and work done.

Equally important, you must assess for commitment. Does the person have the temperament, will, and desire to learn and be taught? Assessing this is harder to do than assessing skills, because virtually every candidate will say he or she is willing to learn, is open to feedback, etc. Below are qualities that coachable people have, which you can factor into your assessment of whether your candidates have a coachable temperament and a commitment to learn.

Coachable people display the following traits that signal their commitment to being coached:

1. Open to change: They are willing to adjust and don’t lean on “I’ve always done it this way” to justify their approach to work. Look at their job history, achievements and current work to understand where and how they’ve adapted to change at a prior job. Ask questions about the challenges to assess how they respond to change.

2. Less focused on hierarchy or status: Coachable candidates (and employees) recognize that the skills that got them to their prior jobs may no longer be relevant. They put aside ego and status, and focus on the end goal, which is to be more employable. They’ll does this even if it means learning skills from someone much younger in age but more experienced in that technology. Candidates who have moved laterally or up and down in their jobs to learn a new skill, or try something new, may be more coachable as well. 

3. Curious: Curiosity leads employees to seek more information and better understand a topic, whether it’s by themselves or through another person. A good way to see this is when candidates ask you questions during the interview process. Curious candidates have questions about your systems, processes, technology and work environments.

Few jobs today offer a linear career path. Most careers are now like rock-climbing walls and require moving up, down and laterally. The candidates who do best are much like great rock-climbers: agile, curious and always observant.

The message for candidates is simple: if you can’t be coached, you can’t stay hired.
And the message for employers? Coachability is key to having a successful hire.