At the Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists® we do a great deal of mentoring, teaching, and coaching. I learned early on that you can only help people do better if they are willing to learn—if they are teachable. I learned this both from teaching others and being taught. I will explain!
From the “being taught” side, I learned that, if I am not open minded, I cannot be taught. I know I have gone to some conferences and was not open minded. I left with nothing. I didn’t learn. I was thinking, “I know better” or “The content does not ‘fit’ me.” As a result, I gained nothing from the knowledge of others. I also learned that, even if I disagree with an approach or perspective, I can still learn and be open minded.
At other times, I have gone to workshops or conferences and people ask me why I am attending the session. They say, “You have written a book” (Reality Check – Straight Talk about Sponsorship Marketing) or “You have been around for decades. What will you learn from this session?” Well, I can definitely say that, when I have attended the “sponsorship 101/beginner bootcamp” like the one SMCC used to host, I have always left with a nugget or two. I have learned both from the instructors and the other attendees, and their questions and insights. When I am willing to learn and be open minded, I benefit. When I am not, I don’t. It’s that simple.
I also learned from working with others as an instructor, mentor, coach, or trainer. In a group session, it is easy to read those who want to be there and those who don’t. The people on their phones or with arms crossed—I leave them out. I don’t bother to try engaging with them until they show they are interested in being engaged. Those who show interest and display the body language that illustrates a desire to learn and be engaged—they are the ones I focus on. There is no sense in trying to convert people to be enthusiastic when you are limited to 90 minutes or a few hours. If they do not want to be taught, there is nothing I can do about it.
When I work one-on-one with a client, I am picky. I will not take the contract until we have met and ensured compatibility. The same goes for mentoring programs. The person I am working with needs to be teachable. They have to be engaged. Otherwise, they are wasting their money or the money of the organization that hired us to support them. I have no problem with a person who has a differing opinion. I welcome that. But I cannot be the only one in the engagement with an open mind. If they are not open to learning, or to considering alternate approaches or styles, they are not teachable.
I love the phrase that I got from a member group program I am involved with that does a lot of personal mentoring or what they call one-on-one sponsorship—“To be teachable I need to be reachable.” It is so true!
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