There is one thing I look for in a hire. It is non negotiable. I look for someone coachable.

No matter how much skill they have, no matter how talented, no matter how much experience, no matter the industry experience, no matter how many years of successful quota attainment, if they aren’t coachable I don’t hire them.

Coachable people recognize they have room to grow. Coachable people are more humble, secure and confident. The coachable look for alternative points of view. The coachable embrace personal development. Coachable people are better with other people. Coachable people are more flexible. Coachable people are always growing and improving. Coachable people rarely make the same mistake twice. The coachable make better employees.

No matter how talented, no matter how skilled all jobs require learning. It is a leaders job to assist in that learning through coaching, by providing guidance, insight, critique and assessment. If a person is not coachable they resist coaching and all the talent, skill and knowledge are lost.

I’ve never seen a job description that requires a coachable person. I have never been part of an HR department provided training on identifying coachable people, yet the most successful candidates are the coachable.

When you hire coachable people there is less drama and more gets done. With coachable people more creative ideas flow and innovation flourishes. When you hire coachable people there is less politics, bureaucracy and tension. When you hire the coachable more time is spent on the things that matter and less on the things that don’t.

Hire coachable people.