Page 184 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Can Take Bad News • 165

it looks like you’re insecurely seeking approval, and people don’t like to
be used to pump up your ego.
Atleastonceayearrequestformalfeedbackthroughobjectivemeas-
urementtools:assessments,appraisals,testing,colleagueinput,organiza-
tional psychologists, or other company-sponsored formats. To measure
your progress over time, you need regular, consistent, timely, and candid
comment.
Assessment inventories, tests, 360-degree feedback, and structured
criteria are used to identify and promote development needs, pinpoint
plateaued managers, prepare for a reorganization, dissect reasons for prob-
lem performers, and launch a professional development program to
improve performance.
Formal feedback slots you into some variation of “does not meet job
requirements,” “overall skill set for job is on the margin,” “meets job require-
ments,” or “consider development for a larger role.” People rank you among
the lowest, middle, or highest levels in potential: “low performer,” “incon-
sistent good performer,” “key performer,” “diamond in the rough,” “rising
star,” or “strategic star.” If you get known as a rising star, people track you
from supervisor, to manager, to director, to vice president, to executive.
A report on your strengths, your development areas, and the raters’
conclusions might include: “Strengths: Creative thinker who is able to
articulate a compelling vision of the future and generate innovative ideas.
Development areas (in communication skills, basic general management
skills, internal senior-level influence, and impact): Must improve his com-
munication skills in two areas: First, he needs to improve his ability to
deliver his message in clear, concise, and simple terms. When trying to
make a point, he has a tendency to go off on tangents, be verbose, to over-
complicate, and not always circle back to the original point he was intend-
ing to make. Conclusion: He demonstrates an abundance of.... however,
when compared against ..., he is relatively underdeveloped.... He should
be considered a strong candidate in a three- to five-year time frame.”
Results need to be interpreted properly and carefully with experi-
enced judgment. Considerations such as a person’s poor insight, lack of
confidence, or desire to impress can alter the outcome.
Respond immediately when any of these types of feedback are
offered to you. But do not limit your desire for feedback to formal evalu-
ations. Solicit feedback in every situation.