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“Teacher-able” part 2

I’ve read books and listen to leaders that speak about the person who is teachable.  The teachable person is humble, is pliable and is willing to change his or her behavior. A teachable person is a learner, someone who is willing to be taught by other people. If only more of us were teachable I think we’d have a lot less problems in our culture.  But I think that teachable ness is only half of the equation. There is another side that we are missing as a culture; yes we all should be teachable but what about being what I call “teacher-able”.  This is a new word that I am proposing, an adjective that is defined as ‘capable and willing to teach others’. The attitude of a teacher is just as important and I think is more rare as is the attitude of a learner.

teach
Teaching others can be done in a variety of ways, teaching others can be done through one on one mentoring, it can be done using software, it can be done with writing, it can be done in meetings, in presentations, in sharing of data. It’s true not everyone can or will teach, it’s also true that not everyone can be taught. Why do we as a society emphasize being “teachable” and not “teacher-able” ?  Both require attitude changes, I think it is actually easier to become teachable than it is to be teacher-able.

The bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Here knowledge is referred to as a fragrance and people are the diffusers of that knowledge, in every place.  The teachable person is humble and is willing to change.  The teacher-able person must also be humble, she must be willing to change if teaching doesn’t come easy to her, the teacher-able person must also become a giver.  Teachable people receive benefit of the new knowledge.  Teacher’s seem at first
glance only stand to lose; especially if they feel that what they are teaching could benefit them in some way by withholding.  Herein lies the difference, the teacher-able
person is a giver.  Being a giver is not a universal quality that we all share. Transforming our work behavior from selfishness and insecurity into one of selflessness and generosity is the essence of becomeing teacherable.

If we could transform our organizations from a siloed insecure place into a horizontal team of teacher/ givers, the rapid technology innovation would take care of itself much faster.

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Teacher-able, part 1

You heard it here first, a new word ‘teacherable’.  No doubt you’ve heard of the word ‘teachable’. 

The definition of teachable according to dictionary.com…

teach·a·ble

  /ˈtitʃəbəl/ [tee-chuh-buhl]

adjective

1.capable of being instructed, as a person; docile.

2.capable of being taught, as a subject.

 my new adjective ‘teacherable’ is defined as:

 teach·er·a·ble

 1. capable and willing to instruct others

Notice I added the word ‘willing’, that’s the interesting thing about educating others, many are capable but few are willing.

If only in the R&D community there were more ‘teacherable’ researchers.  Many R&D organizations tout the fact that they have cultures of continual learning and collaboration. One step further is a culture that is ‘teacherable’.  We need more of that in our R&D organizations. We need researchers who are willing to collaborate but to also teach, not teach undergrad level basics but their current research, their current learning’s in their development work, not only to their managers in their monthly reports but to everyone who cares to look their way and they do this using a variety of tools.

Reseachers who are teacherable personify what it takes for faster innovation….more to follow.

Are you ‘teacherable? if not why not?

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Work At Work

One thing that will separate you from the rest of the pack on the job is if you always work diligently while at the job.  Working hard never should become unneccessary.  No matter how skilled you are no matter how secure you feel your position is.  If you’ll always work hard while you are on the job over time you will accomplish a lot and people will notice.

A strong work ethic seems trivial and basic but I think it is still hard to come by.  It’s easy to sit in front of your computer and justify not really working hard, after all email needs to be read.  Below are three ways to improve your productivity while at work.

1) Don’t read emails when you first get to work.  Delay the email back and forth until you take the time to start your work day right.  Instead take 5 minutes to straighten up your desk a little and/or write a list of goals, this can clear your mind and help you to stay focused.

2) Make goals for that work day, some may call it a to do list, or action item list. Goal setting is a great way to hold yourself accountable and improve the chances of getting things done for that day.

3) Treat your company how you’d like to be treated.  Remember it’s not your time, you are selling your time to your company, its your obligation to make sure they are receiving a return on their investment.

Working hard is rewarding, it helps your company and yourself. When you show up for work, really show up, bring your A game, you just might find climbing the ladder more easy if you do.

What other things can you suggest to improve productivity?

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