Skills for Success - Learning to Learn

"What is the most important skill for a new employee to have?"

The above is a question I hear a lot in my current role recruiting for Meltwater.

I predominantly recruit for sales roles within the UK and Ireland. As we have great opportunities and fast progression, we tend to attract a lot of talent! Of course, sales isn’t for everyone and not everyone progresses. Unsurprisingly, candidates are often interested to know what separates the employee who succeeds from the employee who doesn't. I am always asked what that skill or quality is that makes someone successful at Meltwater. And in general, successful in SaaS sales and leadership.

Whilst you could argue there are numerous skills on this list, I would pick being teachable as one of the top ones.

According to Merriam-Webster teachable means “capable of being taught, apt and willing to learn and favourable to teaching”.

It sounds pretty simple right? We are all being taught from a very young age and you could argue we all have that skill built into us.

But being teachable is not just about gathering information and then doing the bare minimums. Being teachable is the desire to go above and beyond when seeking information, searching for information from multiple sources, constantly seeking advice from different people, and being genuinely interested in the advice and wanting to learn and implement it.

Being teachable also means being able to see where your weaknesses lie, accept your limitations and admit when you have made a mistake. One could say it comes together with being humble and also knowing how to be unoffended when receiving feedback.

How do you become more teachable?

Being teachable comes with numerous characteristics but below is a selection that you can try to master the art of being teachable;

• Adopt a beginner mindset

-Remind yourself that even after you have seen success other people can still teach you things, you can continuously learn and every time you learn you will benefit.

• Learn to listen

-I was once told we were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason and I couldn't resonate with that more.

It's like Dalai Lama said: “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.”

• Be humble and open to feedback

-You can’t really learn until you become humble, accept that you don’t know everything and be able to take on feedback without getting offended.

• Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses

-Be honest with yourself, find out which areas you could specifically work on, but also which areas you might be of value to someone else.

• Actively seek for learning opportunities and make those teachable moments count

-Reach out to other people and ask questions to learn as much as you can. Always focus on the learning process, what you actually have learnt and what you need to follow through with. It's one thing learning something but another to actually execute on what you learnt.

It’s not always easy to be teachable but it’s always worth it, whether it will be in your personal or professional life.

To summarise, in the words of the basketball coach John Wooden: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”