The wise grow wiser
The teachable improve
Proverbs notes a telling difference between two kinds of people when they are taught: instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser; but a mocker, corrected, only grows defensive and bitter. Give the same instruction to both, and one improves while the other resents it.
The difference is not intelligence but teachability. The heart of the discerning gets knowledge; the ear of the wise seeks it out. A leader's response to being taught reveals which kind of person they are — and the truly capable get better when instructed, while fools take it as an insult.
“The heart of the discerning gets knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
— The Proverbs — Proverbs 18:15 (WEB)
The wise grow wiser from instruction. The truly capable get better when taught, while fools resent it — stay coachable as you rise.
“Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
Proverbs distinguishes the wise, who grow from instruction, from the mocker, who resents it. A leader formed here stays coachable, taking instruction as a gift rather than an insult. He actively seeks knowledge rather than defending against it. The inner work is being the kind of person who grows wiser when taught.
Receive instruction as a gift and visibly grow from it. Seek out knowledge and feedback rather than waiting for it. Cultivate teachability in your team, rewarding those who grow from correction. Treat the response to being taught as a key marker when you assess and develop leaders.
Leaders assume seniority exempts them from instruction and bristle when taught, behaving like the mocker rather than the wise. The blind spot is taking teaching as an insult rather than a gift.
Recall the last time you were taught something you didn't know. This week, actively seek out one piece of instruction and let it make you wiser, rather than defending against it.
How a leader responds to instruction is one of the clearest tests of their wisdom. The wise take being taught as a gift and grow from it; the proud take it as an insult and resent it. Same input, opposite outcomes.
When you are instructed or taught something you didn't know, do you grow from it like the wise — or bristle at it like the mocker?