360 Feedback - A Bitter Pill or Growth Hormone?
Avoiding unpleasant feedback is one of those paradoxical quirks of human nature. As rational human beings we instinctively know that we aren't perfect and throughout our early life we have been taught and encouraged to strive for perfection, or 'be the best we can be'.
The Early Days
During our youth we eagerly absorbed and embraced the endless suggestions and advice of the little league coach, teachers, and parents.
Our childhood gave way to "our know it all adolescence". Then we morphed into adulthood "I know what I need to know".
Feedback quickly became a bitter pill and with our uneasiness and our single mindedness advice and suggestions withered away.
The Emperor's New Clothes
The graduation, followed by a new job that blossomed into a new career validated us and our formula for success. Like the emperor in his new clothes we believed that we were as close to perfection as we were going to get. We just had to keep doing what got us here and life would be good.
Hindsight is 20-20
I know of no one that can't look back over their life and say that they wouldn't have done some things differently if given another chance as a daughter, son, student, spouse or parent, or as a young manager for that matter. Yet in our current work a day professional world we like to believe that we are beyond reproach.
I Must Be Doing Something Right
We surmise that we have performed as requested and produced results that opened doors for more responsibility. "I must be doing something right or they wouldn't keep me around". As the years tick by we fell into a familiar and comfortable pattern of going about our role, buoyed up by promotions, merit increases, bonuses, and more responsibility; these are considered the badges of success.
Oddly enough the higher we rose in the organization the more insulated or shall we say isolated we became from receiving candid feedback - feedback that might save us from ourselves. In the end we make the mistaken assumption that we have in fact achieved perfection. After all, no one is saying otherwise.
Finish Lines Belong to Races
Finish lines belong to races and not to life's challenges and certainly not to the special challenge of leadership. You are never through growing as a leader. Change is the only constant and feedback is a practical and efficient compass to help you stay on course.
The Vagaries of Change
Sometimes change is subtle and other times it's obvious. Sometimes it's welcomed and other times it's an intrusion. A company merger, new technologies, downsizing, new regulations, increased competition and reorganizations are some game changing events that most of us could live without. Whatever its cadence or type, change tests a leader's metal.
Adjusting Our Sails
When the wind changes direction we must adjust our sails to stay on course and for some business leaders that may mean adjusting their leadership style. Sometimes just a small change in a leader's behavior can have a major up-tick in the productivity of their team and possibly the survival of their business.
Summary
Everyone needs constructive and timely feedback during their career. Individual feedback can positively impact a career. and enterprise wide feedback can transform an organization.
There are numerous 360 programs ranging from DIY to experienced service bureau offerings providing sophisticated enterprise wide offerings with integrated development attributes on the back end, and an array of executive reports providing a panoramic view of the organization's, talents, strengths, talent gaps, strategic behavior alignment and more.
Insights For Performance markets 360 software for clients since 2003, who want to customize and manage their project, or we offer outsourced services and manage your project for you. Contact us to learn about our unique capabilities including CONTEXT TARGETING (Different questions for different rater groups) and how one of our custom programs can be tailored to meet your needs.
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