Leaders must stay coachable to unlock their true leadership potential

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As always, and more so today, in a fast-moving business world, evolving and adapting is essential for any leader to succeed. To stay relevant, they should be coachable.

Coachability involves openness to feedback, continuous learning, and personal changes that propel professional growth. One co-author reflects on his career and admits he wasn’t always coachable. He thought he knew enough and resisted feedback, and he even wonders what his career might have been like if he had been more open to feedback.

If one were coachable, genuinely listened to feedback, and took steps to improve, one would be more adaptable, practical and promotable. The co-author reflects that very early in his entrepreneurial journey, he discovered his default style was assertive and driven, often pushing back on feedback. Only when working with others whose styles differed from his (a calm, reflective approach was also very effective) did he realize that leadership doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful.

One significant challenge that leaders face is the gap between learning and doing. Many attend workshops or hire coaches only to struggle to apply what they’ve learnt. It becomes knowledge-gathering rather than application.

Chris Argyris calls this challenge “double-loop learning." Unlike single-loop learning, which involves adjusting behaviours without questioning assumptions, double-loop learning digs deeper, examining the beliefs and mental models behind actions. Imagine a thermostat. In single-loop learning, it adjusts the temperature, but in double-loop learning, it would ask, “Why am I set to this temperature?" Leaders who adopt double-loop learning don’t just make surface adjustments.