Page 182 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Can Take Bad News • 163

confidence sort through that to find some nuggets for development. It’s
important to know what other people are thinking while still remember-
ing that they aren’t all-knowing.
The problem is that the more successful you are in anything, the
more critiques are silenced because “you can’t argue with success.” Thus
fewer and fewer people give feedback—formally or informally—unless you
encourage it. The higher you move up in an organization, the more reluc-
tant people are to tell you what they really think. The wealthier you
become, the more you “silence, isolate, and chill people about your defects.”
So brace yourself when you ask for feedback. Be prepared for more
than you anticipated because it’s easier and frankly more fun for people
to come up with more negative observations than positive. Judging others
lets them feel heard, valued, and even powerful.
“How can I make this better?” is all you need to ask. The one thing
you don’t want to hear from people is just your merits. Do not let friends,
family, your boss, your mentor, peers, or competitors just report your
virtues. You already know them because you’re broadly adequate. You
want to learn where to get better.
I accept it from everyone. Feedback is the most wonderful, powerful
thing. I teach that to my four kids—that critique is just a question
about something that isn’t clear, isn’t understood, or isn’t accepted.

ƒ

It’s a demonstration of your worth for me to be unsparing in finding
fault and be sparing on flattery.
ƒ

People shouldn’t fear feedback. We do it to test, make you strong, not
kill you. We use rubber bullets here.

ƒ

I take cues and prompts from everything. I read, talk, have two exec-
utive coaches, get professional development experiences, take nuances
from community involvement, and ask my wife how I’m doing.

ƒ