The only way to discover your strength is through feedback analysis. — Peter Drucker
Today I will tell you about one of the inconvenient truths I’ve faced through all my years working in the people development industry: As people progress in their career path or as executives become more senior, they are less likely to receive constructive performance feedback.
This is partly because most people assume that senior executives should hone a set of skills and talents that enable them to be effective in their job and possess sufficient capabilities to climb up through the ranks. Therefore, they should be able to survive in their role and responsibility just fine without receiving feedback and suggestions from others.
At this stage in their careers, many executives have plenty of subordinates while they may be overseen by a board of directors or very senior supervisors; their superiors probably no longer closely observe the daily behaviour. Rather, they form opinions of based solely on the second-hand reports from those subordinates.
Alternatively, these executives often receive some feedback in their year-end interviews, and most of the time they are caught off-guard when they learn what people really think about their performance, which includes not only their leadership style, but also their communication skills and interpersonal interactions. Such information would be useful if only they had a chance to acquire it sooner.
On the contrary, most leaders tend to send off a vibe that they don’t really want honest feedback; thus, they would not normally ask for it and end up not getting much unless others are being forced to give it.
Truth be told, the ability to give and receive feedback is one of the most important leadership skills in any management book. Moreover, most of us know that feedback can certainly lead to better performance and personal improvement, and can even be used to diagnose issues and improve workplace conditions. Still, almost everybody has encountered negative experiences or received negative feedback that becomes strongly embedded in the psyche and becomes a source of anxiety. This is why feedback is such a negative term for many.
Personally, I also think the word “feedback” can mean “good” or “bad”, and thus a fear of it arose in me to some extent. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that feedback is a valuable thing, especially in today’s complex and competitive world, as it’s even more important than ever to outperform and be the best you can be. And in order to be your best, SWOT analysis or feedback to identify your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is indispensable.
Here, I’d suggest we could opt for something like, “Can you tell me how can I do better?” or “Please point me to where I can improve myself”, instead of directly asking someone to provide you with feedback if it makes you feel better.
This article is intended to distil the sample tips and techniques any leaders can start practising today to improve their leadership and become their best versions.
First and foremost, don’t wait around for people to come to you — go after it. Seek feedback and make it a habit to do it.
Specifically, you first need to identify your own developmental goal — be clear on that. Timing will play a critical role here, both in terms of deciding which person you choose to ask and how often you will ask for feedback. Look for the right moment, and once a person knows you are looking for feedback, you will find that the person is ready to share his or her perceptions.
In the meantime, make sure you ask for specific feedback. Acquire as much information as possible. For a start, use what, when, where and how types of questions to frame the answers.
My next advice is to make sure that the feedback you’ve gathered will stick with you for quite some time. Don’t let it come and go without making sense of it. In other words, you need to open up and listen first before making any excuses to defend your actions.
Then, it is time for you to decide what you intend to do with the all that feedback and suggestions. Some might choose to reflect on it first and evaluate the accuracy as well as the source. This is doable and in fact should be done as feedback normally represents one person’s perspective; therefore, it is essential to consider it thoughtfully and possibly compare it with the feedback from others.
All in all, keep in mind that feedback will remain just words of wisdom if you’re not willing to act on it or change yourself, especially when we think that feedback means asking people for suggestions about your performance and looking for ways to improve or to do things better.
Lastly, feedback is critical to help us grow as people, particularly when we’re in leadership positions. Let’s overcome the initial discomfort in order to take greater ownership of getting feedback. This will happen only once you shift your mindset and acknowledge that you will be able to improve your ability to ask the right questions and eventually upgrade to the best version you could possibly be.
---------------------------------
Arinya Talerngsri is Group Managing Director at APMGroup, Thailand’s leading Organisation and People Development Consultancy. She can be reached by e-mail at arinya_t@apm.co.th or https://www.linkedin.com/pub/arinya-talerngsri/a/81a/53b
For daily updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/apmgroupthai
[href^="http://www.linkbucks.com/referral/"] {display:none !important;}