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People who are coachable have embraced their vulnerability as an opportunity for growth and development. Stepping outside of our comfort zones is the ONLY way we grow. I have been with Art Storefronts for six years and they have a team of coaches that have helped me consistently. When I can afford it, I'd love to have a one-on-one coach.
I think being coachable means to be open to hearing what works, than taking action to put the coaching advice into action.
Everyone has an opportunity to improve. Words of affirmation will do nothing to change the status quo or to help you to improve. Being able to hear the constructive feedback from a coach, and to try to incorporate some changes into what you currently do. One of the best opportunities to improve is when you make a mistake. They are forced into recognizing what is wrong, and to learn from it, so it does not happen in the future. A Coach can help you through this process.
I think for me it's been about staying open to what didn't work. Early on I tried to make a portrait business happen, then weddings, then editorial, and none of it clicked. Being coachable meant hearing "this doesn't feel like you" from people who cared, not defending the path I'd already invested in. It's hard because you want to prove you can make something work, but sometimes the better move is admitting it's not fitting and trying something else. Took me a long time to find landscapes, and only because I finally stopped insisting the other stuff would eventually pay off.
Haha. Oh man. 30 years in children’s book illustration has knocked any sense of self-righteousness out of my soul. The trick is to accept editorial advice, hear it, assess, and figure out new ways to envision a project that both incorporate the coaching and also feel right to your own sense of artistry. Being coachable doesn’t mean following advice blindly. No one wants that - neither the advisor nor the advisee. It means integrating suggestions into one’s own vision and coming out with something better.
Emptying your cup so you can accept being refilled with something new.
I think being coachable means you can hear "this specific thing isn't working yet" without shutting down or getting defensive. When I was shooting wildflowers early on, someone told me my compositions looked like I was just documenting plants instead of seeing light and negative space. That stung, but I could either argue or go back out and actually look at what my frames were doing. The "coachable" part was being willing to sit with the specific critique instead of needing reassurance that my work was already fine.