There’s a pattern I see frequently as a professional development trainer.
Early in our careers, we all expect to be taught. We ask questions and watch how other people handle situations. We listen carefully and understand there’s a lot we have to learn.
Then we gain experience. We become more confident. We’ve been through enough situations to recognize patterns. We’ve developed instincts about what works and what doesn’t. People begin coming to us for answers.
And that’s a good thing! Expertise is the result of experience, and it should absolutely give us confidence.
But it can also cause problems.
If we’re not careful, confidence can become certainty. Instead of thinking, “This is what my experience has taught me,” we begin thinking, “This is simply how it is.”
And once we reach that point, we’re no longer teachable.
Experience Is Valuable, but Incomplete
I’ve worked with professionals at ALL stages of their careers, and one thing I’ve noticed is that years of experience can (sometimes) create a closed mind.
Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of this myself over the years!
The longer you’ve been successful doing something a certain way, the easier it is to believe that your way is the right way. The ONLY way.
So, when someone suggests a different approach, you may find yourself dismissing it before you’ve really considered it. You think…
- “We tried that before.”
- “That wouldn’t work here.”
- “They don’t understand the business the way I do.”
Maybe these things are true. But maybe they aren’t the whole truth.
Your experience gives you a perspective. It doesn’t give you every perspective.
Here’s the truth:
Someone Can Have Less Experience and Still Know Something You Don’t
This is where being teachable gets REALLY uncomfortable.
It’s relatively easy to learn from someone you consider an expert. It’s much harder to learn from someone with fewer years of experience than you.
Time teaches lessons that can’t be picked up from a book. But even when someone has less experience in terms of time, they may have different experience that is equally valuable.
They may have worked with technology you haven’t. They may have learned from another industry, another group of leaders, another organizational culture, or another type of client. They may be noticing something that you stopped noticing years ago because it became normal to you.
Less experience does not necessarily mean less valuable experience.
You don’t have to agree with every idea someone brings you. You do, however, need enough intellectual humility to consider the possibility that others can sometimes see things you can’t.
Continue Reading: https://eatyourcareer.com/2026/09/are-you-teachable-dont-let-experience-become-a-blindspot/