This weekend, I listened to one of my favorite leadership guys, Craig Groeschel. He was talking about the importance of Feedback in any organization (Giving and receiving Feedback, Part 1). I looked for an image to illustrate this idea, but I was unsatisfied. all the images were about us receiving individual feedback from our work, our designs or our clients. When I think feedback, the type of feedback I want to get is from you, my peers, my colleagues, and yes, my clients as well. What do you like about this blog? What can I do better? What have you been able to apply directly to your team or your future team?
Two things stood out to me from Craig’s thoughts on Feedback: 1) Feedback is everywhere, in a colleague’s smirk, a comment on social media, a smile, a scowl, a baby’s angry cry, an insult from your teenager, an angry email, but helpful feedback is RARE. 2) Instead of dreading feedback, we should crave it. How can we improve if there is no one to fill in our blind spots.
I remember as a teenager, I had the privilege of doing a 12 minute talk at church. There were 3 of us each doing our part, and we all practiced and critiqued each other. Yes, I dreaded hearing what my peers would say about my talk. Well, sure enough, they told me, “Greg, you have this weird tick when you talk, you kind of grit your teeth and stretch your throat out like a toad…” Ugh, that was hard to hear, but I had never noticed that I did that.
They helped me to see what I couldn’t see myself.
That’s why we need each other. That’s why we should be craving feedback from others. They see what we don’t. Their perspectives helps us to grow beyond where we can go with only our own perspective. It’s not fun getting critiqued. It can be painful. It’s almost always painful if it’s profitable. So, come at me, let me know what I can do better at! I need to grow. I have blind spots. I need your feedback.