The Best Leaders Are Teachable

The best leaders are teachable.  I was reminded of this recently as I’d written a couple of articles that were sent back to me to be “rewritten.” 

I didn’t like that.  I felt comfortable with what they stated and how they stated it. But this was the first time I’d worked under an editor. And she was very gracious in stating what she was looking for and why.

I had to rewrite them.

At first, I was perturbed. Irritated. As I let the thoughts settle in with my heart and mind a little bit more, I realized that rewriting these two articles would only be in my best interest.  Having to solidify and clarify my points would only make me a better writer in the long run.

I would learn. I would grow.

King David stopped listening to Godly advisors in the Bible and he fell victim to controversy and scandal. He listened to his flesh and it landed him in trouble.

You see; we can never become too big to learn. We are never too powerful to listen to wise advice, and we are never in a position where we can’t still grow.  When we think we are, that’s the exact juncture in time where we need to be taught the most! When we are humbled, that is when we are often able to see the most clearly. That is when we are able to listen with an open heart, and receive what someone needs to say to us with a teachable spirit.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

I may have an agenda. I may think I know what I’m doing and where I’m going – but God knows more than I. He has a higher purpose and a purer goal.  Sometimes that goal may simply be in refining me in the process. My destination may not have been wrong,; simply my heart or motivation may have needed some redirection. Other times, my destination is a little off, and I need some realignment to see where it is that God would rather take me. Either way, if I allow God to use others to teach me, I will always win in the long run. For I will grow and be more of the person, and the leader, that He is crafting me to be.

So whether it’s rewriting a couple of articles to please an editor, changing some policies within a company, or listening to a teenager tell you why they were hurt by something you did as a parent – each one is important. Each one will help us become better at what we do, and who we are, for the Lord.