Mash Media MD Julian Agostini says it’s key to fill a business with ‘coachable’ people to move forward at pace
Are you coachable? This is something that Mark Brewster (CEO of Explori) would often ask of our staff when he worked with me at Mash Media. I liked the question, and the principle and adopted the idea that you only want coachable people in your company as they will take it forward.
We’d all like to think we are, of course, as very few people would want to market themselves as closed-minded.
But what does being coachable actually look like to the outside world?
Here’s a checklist for discussion:
- People who like learning; when was the last time you invested in teaching yourself something new?
- Are you curious? Interested people are interesting people and the reverse also applies.
- Do you like to go on adventures?
- Try new foods and experiences?
- Make mistakes and own them
- Are you a ‘yes’ person?
- Do you get FOMO?
Or alternatively, non-coachable people are probably:
- Never wrong (not really)
- Get irritated in any kind of discussion that’s not going their way
- Fussy eaters
- Talk too much and don’t really listen (they might pretend to but actually they’re just waiting to speak again)
- A ‘no’ person, especially for new ideas ‘won’t work’ or ‘already been done’
- Don’t ever feel (realise) they’re missing out
- Won’t be sold to
Let’s examine that last point a little further.
It’s very much the trend to ‘not want to be sold to’; there’s almost a pride in it these days but is that misguided?
No one wants to be sold to badly but a good salesperson will be informative, intelligent, insightful and offer solutions; who doesn’t want that?
When I started out in sales, nearly 40 years ago (dio mio, that’s scary), it was always interesting that the further up the ladder you got, in terms of who you were selling to, the more time they would give. They were interested and would seek to be informed before making a decision. At the top of the tree, people are secure, courteous and interested.
The rude, obnoxious prospects that would fob you off quickly and refuse to listen were always the tried hards in middle to senior management; in fact the smaller the person the less time they would give you.
Sales have changed dramatically over 4 decades, of course, but attitudes and behaviours haven’t and the principle remains the same.
Fill your business with coachable people if you want to keep your finger on the pulse and move forward at pace.
