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The essential role of feedback for the leader"Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” So goes the question embedded in the fanciful world of a children’s tale and a question that hauntingly stalks most of us for the remainder of our adult journey. Not that we would admit to such, for over the years, not only have we learnt how to conceal and disguise the question, we have learnt to train the mirror into giving us the answer we wish to hear. Hearing the truth? Now that is real fantasy!
For those in leadership, it is a question that provides the yardstick of measurement, recognition and reputation. With so much at stake, it is the question that demands the answer, “why, of course you are!”– be that true or not.
The real problem is not the question, but rather the expectation surrounding the answer.
Perhaps it is the blatant denial or angry response to the answer – the one, at least, that fails to deliver the expected – that is in need of attention. And so, the mirror, weary of abuse and fearful of being shattered, has learnt to simply reply, “Why, of course you are!” every time the question is asked.
Honest feedback is hard to hear and often harder to give. Yet, it is the lifeblood that fuels personal development and organisational growth. Why then do so many continue asking the question, yet refuse to hear any answer until they get the one they want to hear?
It happens all the time and so ‘the voice of the mirror’ learns to play by the rules and follow the script, until all authenticity and meaning is stripped away and the dance can
continue undisturbed.
As a leader, when last did you solicit and receive feedback that was not what you wanted to hear or that you had not anticipated? As a leadership team, when last did you invite feedback that may call into question your practice and effectiveness?
Getting honest feedback is difficult, and do not believe the delusion that the absence of feedback is an indication that all is well. It normally means that you are out of touch with those around you.
Mirror two
David Novak, chief executive officer of Yum Brands once said, “If you see people looking around in meetings, waiting for you to speak, that’s a telltale sign they aren’t being open. I want leaders who can push back. We have training programmes to encourage employees to discuss the ‘undiscussable’, even if others don’t want to hear it”. (Fortune, 20 April 2009, p16)
The acid test of all this is simply to ask when last, as a leader, you felt defensive concerning feedback you received. If you cannot recall such a moment, then the chances are good that you have not been the recipient of the kind of feedback that contains an embedded invitation to personal growth. It is that simple.
Of course, the challenge then becomes avoiding being impaled on your own defensiveness – and that is easier said than done. Recognising such defensiveness represents the first step on a journey in this direction of being the beneficiary of authentic feedback. Sadly, it is a journey on which many in leadership fail to embark.
The compelling reason or motivation for leaders to do all they can to ensure honest feedback, is that it becomes the very essence of strategic leadership. The ability to gather, entertain, evaluate and act on information lies at the heart of making good decisions about the future.
Often, when the desired outcomes do not materialise, the process flaw is to be found in poor data or information. An organisational culture that does not encourage open and honest feedback can have devastating consequences at not only a personal leadership level but at an operational level as well.
Information alone will not ensure that leaders and those they lead will adapt and change sufficiently in order to meet the challenges of a changing world. For that to happen, they will be required to adapt their behaviour, but the platform on which adaptive behaviour is built, is good information.
Leading change is the primary responsibility of the leader of the future, and to do this, the leader has to be the recipient of honest and reliable feedback and information.
It is the leader’s responsibility to create the appropriate climate for honest feedback. It is the leader who ‘gives permission’ for those in the near vicinity to say what it is they really think and feel without fear of reprisal. Others note the leader’s response and regulate their own responses accordingly when it is their turn to be ‘the mirror’.
If you do not receive feedback, if a silence greets your every invitation to share thoughts and ideas, or if the responses always seem to mirror your select ideas and thought, then – as a leader – you have a problem. You have a mirror that has learnt to tell you what it is you want to hear and you are to blame, not the mirror.
Leaders need to create a ‘safe place’ in which authentic feedback can be shared freely. The use of social media can be one way to create such a safe place, particularly for a younger generation for whom this media represents a natural way of communication.
Herein lies another challenge for many leaders: the use of “social media”.
Mirror three
There is a truism that states, “Technique will always lag technology”. It is true that the technology horizon will always appear tantalisingly beyond the reach of most leaders, yet the apparent extent of the gap is cause for concern.
Some leaders even take pride in their computer illiteracy, as if it is noteworthy that they have not fallen prey to the all-consuming technology trap. The problem is that this ignorance can prohibit access to information and feedback that can be channelled through various forms of social networking technologies, thereby blocking a potentially valuable and viable medium for such information and feedback.
Smart leaders see themselves as ‘learners’, and the often fearful world of technology offers an excellent playground to test the learning mentality. It represents a wonderful opportunity for leaders to engage in learning activities and sends out a strong message to those around them.
By being open to feedback through such means, leaders open themselves to entirely new and fresh sources from which feedback can be solicited.
Constantly, astute leaders will be asking themselves three questions when it comes to feedback:
1. How do I know whether I am hearing the truth?
2. What can I do to encourage open and honest dialogue?
3. What can I do with the feedback I receive?
There are no easy answers to these important questions and much will be determined by the prevailing organisational culture that the leader has established.
One thing the leader can do, is to talk to as many employees as possible and listen to what they have to say.
Intel has what it calls “skip-level meetings”, where managers meet with employees two levels down.
Campbell Soup CEO Doug Conant regularly has lunch with groups of 12 employees at a time from across the company and asks for their opinions and perspectives on what is happening within the company.
Creating forums for everyone within the business, to be able to share what it is they experience and see, will be necessary for not only attracting ‘talent’ in the future, but for ensuring that you put to work the inherent diversity within your business.
Much is made today of the need to embrace the cultural diversity inherent within most organisations.
Writing on the issue of cultural diversity in his book The Gatekeeper: A Memoir, Terry Eagleton, a former Oxford English professor, states: “If cultural diversity is part of what makes life worth living, it has also brought a great many lives to a bloody conclusion.
“The call to celebrate such diversity is nowadays the merest cliché in the mouths of theorists and politicians; but it is only when cultural difference can be taken for granted, rather than defiantly affirmed, that it will have ceased to be a source of conflict.”
This is no easy terrain that leaders have to negotiate, and reliable feedback represents life-giving water in what often proves to be a baron wasteland.
Mirror four
Leaders will need to show that they value differing opinions and then use such feedback in helping to navigate the often difficult terrain that is leadership.
Quantum mechanics teaches that information both informs as well as forms us. Information is the lifeblood of the organisation to change, innovate, collaborate, adapt and learn. On a personal level, it is the same.
As a leader, you need to understand this and ensure you do all you can to create healthy information and feedback currents within your organisation – and it starts with you!
Now out you go and ask someone what they think – what they really think. Be ready for a few surprises! ?
Keith Coats is a founding partner of TomorrowToday, a dynamic organisation that helps companies identify the mega trends that will impact the people connected to their business – employees, customers and partners. Keith is a recognised expert on topics including leadership and talent management and a gifted facilitator, executive coach and futurist.
For further information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.tomorrowtoday.biz
