One day, a partner in the firm gave a speech to her team. She was brutally honest about where the team was in relation to its goals. She acknowledged that she wanted to win (and badly) but that the team was falling short. She laid out action plans to take the team to the next level. After hearing the speech, the team felt encouraged and pledged to do more to make things work.
But what happened next is the shocking part. After the meeting, she met with the newest people in the team and asked : “What did you think? What feedback do you have for me?”
That my friends, is a leader.
Now most people won’t do this. Most people won’t directly solicit feedback. And it’s because we attach a lot of fear to feedback. We remember all of the times when we were reprimanded as children. So we avoid asking for feedback because of that stored pain.
But when you ask for feedback, you implicitly are acknowledging for help. You’re saying to the team: “I’m being vulnerable. I’m not perfect. I need you to help me get to where I want to go.”
For some reason, it’s magic. Maybe it’s instinctual to give help when someone needs it. I don’t quite understand it.
But all I know is that I’m going to be asking for more feedback regularly.
Will you?
A New Source Code 