A Teachable Spirit

Dr. John Conley, who as I have mentioned in the past was a mentor of mine while he was President of Circleville Bible College, told me one day that one of the mark of a leader is how they accept correction and whether or not they have a teachable spirit.  Let's look at both:

• how do you accept correction?  The most common response most make when being corrected is to become defensive in their spirit and usually in their retort.  They reply with excuses and and reasons why they should not be corrected, or even held accountable.  A defensive response is the mark of an individual too proud to realize they are indeed human with room for improvement.  A defensive response clearly says I'm not really a leader, instead I'm looking for others/circumstances to blame.
• do you have a teachable spirit?  Do you recognize that you could be better than you are now?  Do you understand that no matter the level of expertise you have that the quality of the relationship you have with your manager and your employees demands that you keep an open mind to the possibility that you might not know everything?  A teachable spirit implies a willingness to accept instruction as an opportunity for growth.

The problem in both of these is the individual's personal self-actualization.  Our insecurities perceive any attempt at instruction or correction as personal attacks and we respond with all the fervor of our fight or flight instinct.  Only the individual who has laid aside this insecurity and replaced it with a new perception of individual worth AND potential for growth can meet this standard.  I hope that this describes you.

Finished Hannibal and Me. The conclusions in the final chapter sum up the content from the rest of the book.  As with many of this type of book, it is much easier to see the answers and then go back and interpret the actions, by that I mean that some of the conclusions may not be as useful as the author might have hoped.  For example, when faced with traumatic incidents, respond with the resiliency of Fabious who accepted and absorbed Hannibal's attacks, effectively neutering his effectiveness.  This sounds easy in retrospect but is quite different in the midst of the storm as evidenced by the fact that only one person in all of Rome had the wisdom to employ this strategy.  I'm not suggesting we can't learn lessons from Hannibal, Fabius and others mentioned in the book but somethings do depend on our personality, background and experience. 

There were a few interesting things that will stick with me.

1. Hannibal won all the battles, but failed to press the advantage and lost the war
2. The use of other factors besides the strength of arm, e.g. geography, can provide a win where a loss is predicted.
3. Sometimes wisdom is found in NOT reacting
4. That people who Win Big early in life often have difficulty later in life resolving their self-perceptions with reality, while people who are less focused early in life may (may being the operative word and not to be taken lightly) do much better later in life.  The key is figuring out when to take the risk and grab for the brass ring - which is almost as rare as the early Star Performer.
5. Keep you mind open, even as you age for the impossible.