Page 181 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

162 • CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization

successful peers—and that is at every level. You need to know how you
stack up in your management’s opinion.
If you aren’t open to it and you don’t seek it out, people can con-
clude that (1) you don’t care to change and improve, (2) you are egotis-
tical in thinking you need no improvement, (3) you are blind to reality,
(4) you are satisfied with the status quo, (5) you lack ambition, and (6)
you will retaliate if you get it from them.
Most people don’t ask for feedback on themselves; they wait for it,
half hoping that it won’t come. Instead, encourage and embrace the opin-
ions of others. If you don’t encourage them, you’ll hinder learning, and
they may stop being attentive or caring about you.
Silence is sometimes the worst criticism because the person deems
you not worth the effort to invest in.

Welcome criticism because then you can change, and they won’t have
that to use against you in the future.

The discussion in Chapter 3 was all about constantly seeking infor-
mation about your business, the business world, and the universe in gen-
eral. The same need is there to constantly seek information about how
you’re doing but without having you be the main focus of things.
In other words, it’s not because it’s “all about me” that you seek feed-
back in a self-centered, self-focused fashion. It’s about “What can I do
better in my work, in my communication, in my decision making, and in
my developing and helping others to do better in their work, their com-
munication, their decision making, and their helping others do better?”
This is why you seek feedback.
All feedback is not created equal. Consider the source, timing, sub-
ject and situation, recent history, past history, office politics, personality,
culture, and the current business environment.
Feedback can be as much about the person giving it as about the one
receiving it. Formal critique is sometimes just judging, prejudices, and biases
made acceptable when put in a feedback format. It’s a huge mistake to think
that you are what other people say you are. Still, look for some insight that
you didn’t have, and view it as a positive opportunity to learn and change.
Fearing feedback is foolish. Yes, there is fraudulent feedback
(stemming from political motivation), but you need to calmly and with