If you want to grow your career, increase your earning opportunities, and earn the trust of your managers, you have to be willing to learn.

That sounds simple.

But sometimes the people who need to hear it the most are the people who are least willing to listen.

Sometimes—actually, many times—the most stubborn and cranky people can teach you the most.

A Trainee Who Thought They Were a Technician

We had a young carpet cleaning technician who didn’t look the part, didn’t act the part, and was struggling to learn the part.

What do I mean by “didn’t look the part”?

This person arrived at work looking like they had just woken up. They didn't wear properly fitting pants or a clean shirt. They didn't practice good personal hygiene.

Why does that matter?

Because if you don't take yourself seriously, no one else will.

That may sound mean or judgmental, but we are all selling something.

And in business, your first impression often becomes the impression people remember.

Life and people don't always give you a second chance to prove them wrong.

You can think that's unfair, but you're only limiting yourself if you're unwilling to approach the world as it is.

The longer answer starts with understanding the difference between being a trainee and being a technician.

Your Job Title Doesn't Automatically Make You an Expert

This person was a trainee who thought they were a technician.

A trainee still has a lot to learn.

A technician has a foundational level of training and skills necessary to accomplish their responsibilities as a competent professional.

This employee knew how to perform some basic tasks, but they weren't ready to provide every service our company offered.

But, as often happens in busy organizations, a spike in work caused by flooding in the area created pressure to get more people into the field.

The prior manager had sent this trainee out to perform work independently.

The result was a mismatch:

Skill level: Trainee
Responsibility level: Technician

That's a dangerous combination.

Learning by Doing Can Create False Confidence

In most skilled trades, we learn by doing.

That often means learning by failing forward.

You try something. You make a mistake. You learn from it. You get better.

That's how experience is built.

But there's a potential problem.

Experience without proper training can create a false sense of confidence.

Someone can perform a task a few times and begin to believe they have mastered the entire profession.

The prior manager was eventually let go for underperforming.

When I arrived to manage the team, one of my discoveries was that this employee needed significantly more training before they should have been working independently.

So I assigned the trainee to one of our seasoned technicians.

This technician had a record of successfully completing all of the services we offered and had previously been successful
in a training capacity.

The trainee didn't like the decision.

They clashed with their trainer.

They thought the trainer was too mean.

Sometimes the Person You Don't Like Is the Person You Need to Learn From

I sat down with the trainee.

We discussed their concerns, and I shared my own experience working with people I had clashed with in the past.

Some of those people taught me skills that eventually helped me reach the position I was in.

I explained that I had often needed to swallow my pride and become willing to learn if I wanted to move from where I was—in knowledge, skills, and resources—to where I wanted to be.

Then I shared something I believe is true for almost anyone trying to build a career:

If you want to earn, you must first be willing to learn.

The trainee seemed to agree.

So we discussed how to work with people who may not have the best communication or training skills.

I asked:
“Has the person you're training with been doing this work a lot longer than you?”

Yes.

“You see the tickets your trainer turns in. Do they complete more work, more upsells, and make more money than you did during the short time you were working independently?”

Yes.

“If you were able to hold your opinions for three to six months and commit to learning from this person, would you have a more complete skill set?”

Yes.

“If you developed a more complete skill set, would that help you become more successful on your own and potentially set you up for a career as a much higher earner?”

Yes.

We talked some more, and I thought we had reached a good understanding.

The plan was simple.

We would check in once a month on their progress, and I would also talk with the trainer about their approach to training.

I also talked with the technician about improving their hygiene and personal presentation.

I even gave them new company shirts so they could start fresh.

What Happened?

Did they improve their hygiene and personal appearance?

No.

The new shirts looked like old, wrinkled laundry the following week.

Did they swallow their uninformed pride and make an effort to learn?

No.

They continued to complain about the trainer.

Granted, the trainer could have done some things better.

But the trainee was focused almost entirely on what everyone else was doing.

They expected everyone else to change for them while making almost zero effort to do what they had been asked to do.
And that's where the bigger career lesson comes in.

Stop Blaming Everyone Else for Your Lack of Progress

If you want to get yelled at, complain without accepting responsibility.

If you want to get yelled at, complain without being willing to change.

If you want to get yelled at, complain and blame everyone else.

You will make your bosses frustrated.

And more importantly, you will not grow.

You may be right about some things.

Your boss may genuinely communicate poorly.

Your trainer may genuinely be difficult.

Your coworkers may genuinely make mistakes.

The workplace may genuinely be unfair sometimes.

But being right doesn't automatically make you successful.

You can spend all your energy proving that everyone else is wrong, or you can ask yourself:

What can I learn from this situation?

That's where growth begins.

Career Growth Requires Coachability

One of the most valuable traits an employee can develop is coachability.

Being coachable doesn't mean accepting every piece of criticism as truth.

It means being willing to listen.

It means separating your ego from useful feedback.

It means asking whether there is something you can improve—even when the feedback is delivered poorly.

Before you decide your boss or coworkers are being mean, take a look in the mirror.
Ask yourself:

• Am I presenting myself in a way that makes people take me seriously?
• Am I taking this opportunity seriously?
• Am I building trust with the people around me?
• Am I willing to learn from someone who knows more than I do?
• Am I accepting responsibility for the things I can control?
• Am I responding to feedback or simply defending myself?
• Am I focused on improving, or am I focused on proving that I'm right?

These questions matter because your career isn't built only on technical skills.

It's built on trust, reliability, professionalism, attitude, communication, and the willingness to improve.

Short-Term Vision Creates Long-Term Problems

The trainee wanted the responsibility and independence of a technician without first developing the skills and habits required to succeed as one.

That's a common problem in careers.

People want the promotion before developing the skills.

They want the higher income before developing the value.

They want independence before demonstrating reliability.

They want respect before demonstrating professionalism.

But career growth usually doesn't work that way.

You earn greater opportunities by becoming the person capable of handling them.

Sometimes that means doing things you don't want to do.

Sometimes it means listening to someone you don't like.

Sometimes it means admitting that you aren't as skilled as you thought you were.

Sometimes it means taking criticism that hurts.

And sometimes it means swallowing your pride and going back to learning the basics.

Unwilling to Learn = Unable to Earn

If you want to grow your career, increase your income, and create better opportunities for yourself, become someone who is willing to learn.

Don't confuse confidence with competence.

Don't confuse criticism with disrespect.

Don't confuse independence with refusing help.

And don't confuse being right with being successful.

Take the opportunity seriously.

Build trust.

Listen.

Learn.

Improve.

Then do it again.

Because the people who are willing to learn today are often the people who become qualified to earn more tomorrow.

Three Questions to Ask Yourself

• Criticism: Is it true?
• Feedback: Is it helpful?
• Challenge: Will you see it through?

Your answers may have more to do with your future career growth than you realize.

Unwilling to learn = unable to earn.

#CareerGrowth #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #SkilledTrades #Construction #WorkplaceCulture #Coachable #MoneyMindset

On Episode 110 of The DYOJO Podcast, we talked to Nicole Humber CEO of Bravo restoration, she's going to piggyback on the concept of reaching out to schools and talking to students about opportunities in the skilled trades. She says, "So I've been really involved in those schools coming back and either being a presenter and talking about our specific trade, or being a mentor for women, like women students that are interested, but not like, they only see male, so they think that's allowed. We have a couple of programs outside of schools that focus in on, you know, ages 16 to 24, or right after high school. And so I just get involved in those, you know, reaching out asking if I can be a mentor, or like, Hey, do you need anything like, what can I give you to help?" 

We echo ​what Nicole is saying. And for anyone who hasn't experienced it, and we've had some badass ladies on our crews. It really is, there's no rhyme or reason it's not you're from this generation means that you're a hard worker, I've had people from older generations who have been lazier than young people. I've had young people kick butt and, you know, take in complex concepts quicker than others who've been doing it for a long period of time. So it's really, you know, finding the right people that are a culture fit for your organization. And if you look around, and the culture is pretty monolithic, you know, maybe it's a lead not, maybe it's a leadership issue, it's time to you yourself, need to get outside of your box, expand the parameters for finding new talent, and finding ways to make it open and inviting to not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it will exponentially grow and improve your company having more diverse influences. What are some of those words of encouragement for people that maybe are feeling like, Man, why am I doing this? Do I need to stick with it? How do will I break through barriers? Because whether it's a young person or various genders, or races, you know, there's all kinds of barriers to you know, especially a very traditional old school thinking industry.

Nicole Humber says, "​I think that um, my biggest encouragement or advice would be just, you can only control what you can control what you do. You can't control what other people say or do or, or, and so it's like, what you can control is what you experience. And so when people are in these establishments, that they're like, I can't quite break through this barrier. I feel like there's a seat. A glass ceiling, I just I see it, but I can't get there. Invest in yourself. So invest in reading leadership books, invest in, you know, if you have to pay for your own IICRC classes do that. Do your research, become an expert in the industry where it makes it impossible for anyone to put the lid over you. If you don't have a leader that is invested in your growth, then you have to invest in yourself."

On Episode 108 of The DYOJO Podcast, we are talking about crime and construction. Our main story centers around a burning truck, a missing contractor, and millions of dollars for housing developments being unaccounted for. ​