The Energy of Feedback

“Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.” -Lao Tzu

My husband once asked me if given a choice of knowing too much or too little, which one would I choose...I smiled. It was a question of burden versus empowerment, naivety versus ignorant bliss, and which would give you peace of mind versus which state would propel you towards your goals and dreams.

I thought of this question again as I watched this year's team go through SDG Innovation Accelerator Program (SIAP)*. This is a 9 month UN Global Compact Program designed to equip teams to solve some of their companies' biggest SDG challenges in an innovative way, and unlock new opportunities for the business.

It has been a roller coaster ride, even as the person opening the doors and strapping them to their seats. I watched as they opened their eyes to what if, the dejectedness when reality hit, the pressure of juggling their day job with the demands of the program, life/career changes, tricky team dynamics and differing communication styles, old habits that no longer served their new reality, the change, the struggle...and through all of this they maintained a quiet empathy towards working together and solving their chosen problem. I had told them that their chosen problem was a big one, and wasn't sure if they were ready. This was my fear speaking, after wobbling when my team tried to implement 2 years ago after the program. As co-Team Champion my responsibility was to open doors, invite conversation with the rest of the business, and support the team.

The support I had to give varied from giving the team pep talks when spirits were down, a wake up call when things weren't moving, a sounding board to make sure they were on the right track. I borrowed some of wisdom from some of my more experienced colleagues, kindness from their mentor, I counselled, I gave feedback, and I watched each of them process feedback in different ways.

"Feedback is a gift. Most people gravitate to people who agree with them, who say what they want to hear, and then they don't grow... Being a good leader means asking a lot of good questions." - Maanda Rashaka , SDG Innovation Accelerator Program, last class before the big presentation

Feedback is such a curious thing. Give feedback to someone who is open, hungry to grow, receptive and they soar - and it gives you energy back. Give feedback to someone who's firmly rooted to their story, they in turn stiffen; you're iced out, drained and wonder what the point was. Like gifts, you cannot force someone to like, receive, or be thankful for the thing you gave of your own accord. Navigating whether the person is open or closed, and how to speak to where they are has been a humbling experience. If you give feedback with conditions, you're also setting yourself up for failure, because you've just taken ownership of someone else's journey.

I wonder if the team would decide to do the program again knowing what they know now... 2 weeks until their big presentation!

The thing about solving a problem bigger than yourself, is that inevitably you will grow (or break yourself in the process, and hopefully go through a rebirth), and that growth is the thing that will unlock more possibilities for you, as well as the business.

What an exciting time it is to be alive, that we get to have amazing opportunities like this. I am thankful to the UN Global Compact (and their associated partners) for providing such an awesome program. Moreover, I am thankful to companies like Redefine Properties who are invested in developing youth, and committed to achieving its sustainability goals.

If you or your company are interested in joining the program next year, you're in for massive growth. More details here:

*https://globalcompactsa.org.za/programmes/young-sdg-innovators-programme/

#SDG #UNGC #YSIP #Sustainability #Growth #personaldevelopment #designthinking #innovation #GIBS