Page 247 - The extraordinary leader

224 • The Extraordinary Leader

Enormous barriers to feedback exist inside organizations. The good news is
that when I am presented with disconfirming information about myself, I will
more often change how I act rather than change how I see myself. That is the
great power of feedback.
Subordinates are in the best position to provide feedback, and when asked
for it, the process creates a more wholesome working relationship. Accept
feedback as the valid perceptions of others, and first seek to understand the
meaning. Assume the givers have pure, positive intent. Keep asking for feed-
back. It is the golden path to continual improvement.
Time and again we witness people receiving 360-degree feedback from
direct reports, peers, and their boss. Often, with nothing else occurring, the
individual recognizes what strengths need developing, figures out exactly what
needs to be done and how to do it, and proceeds to take the appropriate steps.
Our biggest contribution is often getting out of the way.
12. Learn from work experiences
As leaders embark on every project, it is useful to make notes of what is
expected to be achieved and in what time frame. Then, the leader can peri-
odically see how the actual results are tracking with the original expectations.
That way, every activity and project becomes a learning experience. The
leader can then seek to find the answer about why it is going much better than
had been expected, or why it is costing more, or why it ran into roadblocks
with other departments. An important part of self-development is simply
finding the mechanism by which you can learn from every experience.
We turn again to an example from the world of sports. Most football
games are played on the weekend, so there is the classic Monday review of
the game films. Why? Coaches want the players to learn from their experi-
ence. They are fortunate to have films that record the game from several
perspectives. Leaders have to create that powerful, compelling feedback
process, because it is no less valuable as a way to improve performance in
every arena.
13. Study the current reality the organization faces
Good development encompasses improving one’s character, one’s knowledge,
and one’s behavior. This topic focuses on knowledge. One important leader-
ship development exercise is to step away from your organization and look at
it through the eyes of a security analyst. Then look at it as if you were a com-
petitor. Then stand away and see how it would look if you were a supplier.
Then do the same thing from the perspective of a customer. Be aware of