Are You Coachable? - Emerging Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

I recently spoke with a CNO who acknowledge feeling frustrated with one of her nurse managers. Although the manager has great potential and is capable, she is not open to coaching. She described to me some behaviors that are seen in people that are not coachable. These include the following:

Always thinking they’re right
Not willing to learn new things
Not open to change
Negativity and pessimism
An inability to self-reflect
Not focused on self-improvement
Dismissive of others and/or their opinions

Ultimately, her unwillingness to listen to feedback or receive constructive criticism without taking it personally could derail this manager’s leadership career. As a leader, she has to be willing to take a look at her own performance in order to improve it. Being coachable means that you’re ready to do what it takes to change, transform, improve or excel, whatever that means for you and your situation. How can she possibly role model this for staff if she herself is unwilling to be coached. Being coachable can make you feel vulnerable but it is the secret to achieving many or most of your dreams but not everyone is ready to go there.

My suggestion to the CNO was that she begin by working to build a zone of psychological safety for the manager. Dr. Amy Edmondson is an expert on psychological safety in the workplace. She provides the following description: “psychological safety describes the individuals’ perceptions about the consequences of interpersonal risk in their work environment.” It consists of taken-for-granted beliefs about how others will respond when you put yourself on the line, such as by asking a question, seeking feedback, reporting a mistake, or proposing a new idea. We weigh each potential action against a particular interpersonal climate, as in, “If I do this here, will I be hurt, embarrassed or criticized?” When people are not coachable, it is often a result of either life or career experiences that lead them to become defensive and untrusting. It is impossible to do coaching without a strong foundation of trust.

This story led me to think about a question that all leaders should ask themselves and that is, Are You Coachable? Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all time, once noted that “my best skill in basketball was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.” There is a lesson in that for all of us.

Rose Sherman’s new book – The Nurse Leader Coach: Become the Boss No One Wants to Leave is now available for pre-order. It will be released on February 18th, 2019.

Read to Lead

Edmondson A. Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace; 2014. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8