Humility—allowing yourself to be coachable, particularly at school and afterwards with your road trainer—is one of the hardest ideas to get over at Trucking Truth. Together, these two qualities are inclusive of one another.
The online dictionary Webster’s defines humility as “the condition of being modest.” They derive from the Latin term humilis, which means “low.” When anything is referred to as humble, it is seen as lowly, as in “persons of modest roots.”
Disgrace often follows when ego takes control, while knowledge typically follows humility.
Instilling in me the value of treating everyone with respect, particularly while you are on “the way up,” since you never know whether you may need that person at some point on your “journey down,” my grandfather taught me the significance of humility decades ago. This strategy has produced excellent outcomes throughout my trucking career, notably during training and school.
Be Coachable and Humble
Being coachable, in my opinion, refers to your willingness to put up the effort necessary to change, transform, improve, or exceed, depending on your circumstances. Is it feasible to achieve this without a healthy dose of humility? No, I do not think so.
There are many various types of undesired behaviours that someone who is not being modest and coachable may exhibit, including but not limited to:
- They always believe they are correct (and more than happy to inform everyone of this fact)
- Unwilling to acquire new knowledge (Learning new things might be challenging if you constantly believe you are correct.)
- Not willing to adapt
- Negativity
- Pessimism
- During constructive criticism, there is eye-rolling
- Lack of self-reflection (the attention is on the flaws of the other person)
- Not interested in enhancing their life or relationships.
- Disrespectful to other people and their ideas
- Generally unable to change, advance, or take the necessary steps to improve.
- Making fun of others
- Overly critical of others
When you consider the traits of a coachable person, it is clear that they are the ones who will achieve in life in terms of their health, happiness, and attitude. Coachable people connect with others in a manner that consistently supports their pursuit of achievement, learning, and personal improvement. A coachable person has a laid-back, open, and receptive attitude that makes everything they desire to do in life seem possible. They often inspire people around them because they produce outcomes.
Too often, a “CDL Hopeful” attends school, whether it is a paid training programme for a commercial driver’s licence or a private truck driving school, without giving it a second consideration. Often, the focus is on what the school can provide and if it meets their standards, as if the inexperienced student truly knows or understands the litmus test for a trucking school.
We must stop having unrealistic expectations that schools will prepare us to be top-tier truck drivers immediately. You will learn only what you need to know at truck driving school to pass the CDL tests and nothing more.
A student has to be coachable and modest to the point where they are willing to learn, take in the material being offered, and ideally apply it after putting it into practice time and time again. The problem arises when a Type-A personality, which many of us have, tries to take charge, imposes their will as if they have done it before, and makes judgements based on knowledge and experience from completely unrelated prior experiences.
The type-A personality’s deadliest adversary may be and often is, the ego. Many people find it difficult to lower their elevated self-esteem and accept that while in school; we are all equal since they see their former professions as eminent professionals in their chosen industries. According to the professors and the organisations paying the bills, we are all completely “in the dark” about everything. Our prior successes and failures have no direct influence on how well we do in school or when we learn to drive and back a truck.
I have said it in the past, and I will state it once more: none of us are adequately prepared for trucking school by the experiences we have had in our lives or in our jobs. Every student’s success depends on their ability to embrace this fundamental truth with humility.
Many of the seasoned drivers on this site know that having a big ego often leads to confrontation instead of great outcomes. These students interrupt the learning process for you and everyone else by often feeling that the teaching method and material delivery are deficient. We have heard innumerable stories of pupils primarily concerned with analysing and criticising instructional methods and sometimes even curricular material. This criticism is virtually never based on experience and is often based on hearsay, such as something they have read online. When evaluating a school’s performance becomes the main focus of a student’s life and the bulk of the information in their CDL training journal, difficulties and even failure are more probable.
Trucking Diversity
The world of trucking is quite diversified. More diversity than in any industry I have personally seen and experienced, without any distinctions based on race, colour, or faith. The Trucking Truth forum alone has previous company owners, business professionals, engineers, government employees, skilled and unskilled labour, office workers, healthcare experts, software professionals, retired military, former K–12 educators, and most recently, a college professor.
On the one hand, there are the young in their early 20s, the elderly, those over 60, and everything in between. Anyone can win since the playing field is level and flat, albeit few do. Of course, anybody may fail, and sadly, many people do.
In most other sectors, there is nothing like this variety. Although intriguing and engaging, it poses a significant barrier for ordinary mortals trying to impart knowledge and abilities beyond anything we have ever encountered. Many of the teachers are ex-journeymen truck drivers who were put in charge of instructing the nation’s future professional drivers without having (in the majority of instances) any prior teaching expertise. It is challenging, to put it mildly, and calls for the student to be keenly aware of how to fit in, adapt for success, and avoid being irritated due to preconceived notions of how the school should run.
Lessons From My Time In CDL Training
I remember my personal Swift’s Paid CDL Training at Richmond Academy experience from when I was a student. The driving instructor’s personalities were immediately apparent once the fundamental classroom exercises were accomplished. We were all mixed into the same pot of stew; their personalities were as varied as their pupils’ origins. Even while this caused many people concern, there were moments when it was really fun.
My method of studying was quite straightforward; I did not let my sentiments about a teacher’s teaching style (or vulgar conduct) divert me from my main objective. For those familiar with me and my personality, it was not always easy to hold back my views, but I did so while concentrating on the ultimate result. No matter how I felt—happy, sad, annoyed, or angry—I never showed it. I never gave the teachers any proof that would have made them doubt my effort or motivation. I was just there to learn, poker-faced.
For the next three weeks, studying was my work for 15 hours each day. I took it extremely seriously and did not let anything or anybody divert my attention. My thoughts were successfully shielded from noise, head garbage, and negativity. There was a lot of hostility there, I assure you. The few kids I hung out with had similar goals, wanted to study after class, and had little time for idle conversation during class.
I was not there to make friends, go on a personal crusade about how I should teach the class, or modify my teaching methods to suit certain students’ personalities or learning styles. I was not there to teach, however.
I quickly developed a highly adaptable learning strategy centred on adapting to the teacher rather than the other way around. The learning technique “Listening to Understand” is far more successful than “Listening to Reply.” Unless specifically requested, a response is often unnecessary unless you have a question or want to ensure that you understand the message.
Even though I did not always agree with some of the teachers’ dictatorial teaching methods, I never let it stop me from studying or make the stuff they were forcing down my throat any less valuable. Additionally, I think they all saw this positive conduct in a few of us. In addition, they made it quite obvious that they were the experts, not me.
I worked hard to humble myself. I avoided the need to test the teachers, eliminating many potential distractions that may lead to failure. In addition, I concentrated on being coachable and open-minded to let the teaching process flow organically despite the frequent, harsh criticisms. I maintained the laser-like concentration necessary to properly carry out the duties of a professional student.
The intensity level of the teaching method started to lessen, which was evident throughout my consistent approach. As a result, I started developing strong working ties with many teachers. But not all the students had that experience; many made it difficult for the teachers to train them while making it simple for a forced escape. In actuality, it occurred repeatedly.
I think a lot of you have heard one of my favourite lines:
“Watch Your Wagon Driver, Watch Your Wagon.”
One of my favourite teachers, whose insight and practical approach to truck driving still serve as a basis for how I run my company today, yelled this for the day. To say that he influenced me would be an understatement. It is unlikely that his interest in my studies would have gone much farther if I had approached him with anything other than respect, humility, or a coachable attitude.
Additionally, as students, we are not there to teach or aggressively help a struggling student at the cost of our education or, even worse, to risk a disagreement with the teacher. It is vital to understand that trucking is a competitive industry after completing the necessary education. I am aware that this may seem heartless and impersonal. It is a battle that kicks off on the first day, right from the outset. No honeymoon exists. Either you are all in, or you are not.
There are winners and losers in every competition. The selection procedure moves quickly and does not stop until it is done. This student competition, which includes each student’s capacity for concentration and exertion, becomes an integral component of job appraisal at the paid CDL training programmes. In a sense, the interview starts right away.
I have no idea whether my straightforward approach to studying affected the result. Still, I am certain it produced the desired outcomes and exceeded what I had anticipated. Was it the institution? Were the teachers to blame? Maybe it was me. In conclusion, I believe it was a combination of all three, with a focus on the student and a knowledge of when to be quiet and when to adapt to the teaching style of each particular teacher.
The education is all extremely brief, lasting only a blink of an eye, and if nothing else, will aid in developing the attitude required to be successful long after the memory of operating a beat-up teaching track fades. Make the most of your time and resources since school does not last very long.
Be coachable and honest.
