Are you an Emperor’s New Clothes manager?
This week the critical importance
of getting honest feedback
rather than what people think
that you want to hear
from your team members, direct reports
and the others around you.
Hi, I'm Campbell Such
This is Mind by Thursday
Your weekly dose of
The Human Edge in Technology.
This week the critical importance
of getting honest feedback
from the people around you
especially from your team
and from your direct reports
and others around you.
I don't know if you remember the story
or if you ever heard the story of
The Emperor's New Clothes
but it's about an emperor
who was swindled by a couple of people into
thinking that the fabric that they were making
for him had magic properties
and could make him look absolutely fantastic.
He was obsessed by clothes.
What they were actually doing
was knitting him nothing
on a loom that had nothing in it
and dressing him in no clothes
and all the people around
were lead to believe that they were either
unfit to hold their posts
or incompetent and stupid
if they couldn't see the fabric
couldn't see the clothes.
So the King was convinced to go on a parade
and as he walked down the parade it wasn't
until a child who had no understanding
of the power and influence of the emperor
said “But he hasn't got anything on!”
and a whisper ran through the crowd
and the whole crowd were then able
to shout out to the king
tell the truth to the emperor
to tell the truth that he had no clothes on
and the emperor realized
the massive mistake that he’d made
So how many leaders and managers are there
that are isolated from their teams
from the truth, from the real world
from the information that they need
to make good decisions
and run their teams properly.
Why does that happen?
Well, it's probably got a lot to do with
the likes of The Emperor's New Clothes story
that no one feels that
they can tell them the truth
that they only tell them
what they really want to hear
And why is that?
It's because in the past
when I've tried to give their
manager or leader feedback
especially negative feedback.
They've been blocked either subtly, or worse
but as leaders and managers
we need to be connected
we need to know what's going on.
There's a saying that
“It's the wise leader (or wise manager)
that wants to hear
what they don't want to hear”
We really need to focus on
being open to the feedback
especially when it's negative
But the biggest challenge is actually
getting that feedback.
So even when you do
ask for honest feedback
here's what actually happens
so much of the time.
So how do we go about doing that?
Well think of it as dipping a toe in the water
or maybe even more importantly
putting a toe into your office
putting a foot
putting their big toe into your office
and that toe is giving you
a little bit of feedback
and depending on the reaction
or the response that the person
that's giving you the feedback
especially if it's negative gets from you
will determine what happens next
and if you react in the right way
which is especially with negative feedback
not to argue, not to talk about your intent
not to try and explain
It's just to say
“Thank you for your feedback.”
That's the critical thing
when someone gives you feedback
especially negative
is “Thanks very much for your feedback.”
And then hopefully
what that means is that
they'll feel comfortable and safe
and they'll be open to giving it another turn.
Maybe the whole foot comes in …not just a toe
and you get a little bit more feedback.
And if you go through that cycle
eventually you’ll build up the trust and safety
so that people will be comfortable
to give you that honest feedback.
The critical thing is
you've got to say, thank you
and not explain, not argue
not justify
do not explain your intent
take it on
listen to it
and most importantly
just as importantly over all of that
is to take action
and give them feedback
on what you've done as a result of their feedback.
So just to sum up
as leaders and managers.
It's critical for us to get
open honest feedback from the people around us
especially our teams and our direct reports
so that we can make great decisions
and run our teams
and deliver results effectively
In order to do that
we need to set up an environment
of openness and safety
so that people can put their foot through the door
put the whole body through the door
and give you that feedback.
How do you do that?
By not and especially when you get feedback
which is you know
that's hard, right, to take
is to not react in any kind of negative way.
Don't explain.
Don't justify.
Don't explain your intent.
Don't try to argue
just say, “Thank you for your feedback.”
And this will encourage overtime
and more open and honest environment
that while an open environment
that allow your teams
and the people around you
to give you the feedback
that you really need to hear.
And as an extra add-on
seek out other people
from around your organization
and outside of the organization
explain to them that you want honest feedback
explain to them
that you're looking for it
and that you'd be happy
to get the negative feedback.
Even if you're not really happy inside
when it actually happens
and set up the safety environment for them.
So hopefully a couple of things to consider
around feedback
and how that might help you
make better decisions
better run your team
and deliver better results for your organization.
That's Campbell Such.
Mind Bite Thursday for this week.
Over and out. See ya...