A few years ago, our family saw Michael Phelps and Ian Crocker on a tour to promote swimming in America. After seeing them in person, I just assumed they must have been just naturally gifted at birth and blessed with Olympic-sized talent. Lucky them!
Then the announcer asked Michael what he does for vacation. “Well, I swim 365 days a year and work with my coach on most of those days, so I don’t have much time off.”
What?? I could make the team if I practiced that much! OK – not a chance. But if you do anything that much, you are going to be pretty good. And, why does he still need a full-time coach? Then, I got a clue.
My son participates in a mental training program for high school athletes. I recently watched an online video with him and one topic jumped off the computer screen at me. “A critical part of becoming better is receiving and acting upon ACCURATE feedback.”
Interesting. So, no matter how good you are, you can only improve if you know objectively and specifically what will make you better. Seems obvious – but it really stuck with me because I don’t think it’s practiced much in business today.
For Olympic athletes, reaching the medal stand is based solely on results, so their complete focus is on getting better. Not on the applause, but getting better.
Giving Accurate Feedback:
This sounds like an obvious goal, but think about this a minute. How often do you see this happen? Other factors can get in the way. Here are a few:
Honest feedback is uncomfortable. It’s easier to say “good job” and call it a day. Accurate feedback takes thought and is just harder to do. Working through your discomfort can be your greatest gift to help someone improve.
Performance rating retro-fit. My colleague, Kristi Erickson, just shared a blog on why the current performance management in most companies needs to be eliminated. Today, the goal is often to manipulate the ratings to get the promotion or the right raise. Accurate feedback – if it involves areas for improvement – often happens on the side and very carefully.
Fear of sounding negative. We have an acceptance that ‘no news is good news’ in business. If you share how to improve, will it be interpreted as intended or that you are criticizing? The best leaders know how to give honest feedback while offering encouragement. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
Accepting Accurate Feedback:
Even if we receive it, we have to hear it and use it. Here are some obstacles that can get in the way:
Success affects hearing. “If I’m this successful, I must be doing something (everything) right. So why do I need to improve?” I’ve seen leaders stop learning because of an unspoken belief that success gave them a free pass. They just didn’t need feedback anymore.
My brother is a baseball hitting coach and has worked with some great players with the Texas Rangers and now the Baltimore Orioles. It’s fascinating to hear that even at this level these incredibly talented players work constantly to improve and make even small adjustments that affect performance.
Likewise, the greatest golfers in the world have coaches to help their technique. These top athletes know they have to constantly improve and they can’t do it alone.
Addiction to applause. This starts when we are children. We like the applause and accolades more than knowing what will make us better. This addiction can cause us to tune out anything except “you are great”. Gravitation to applause can give us a distorted view of our performance, keep us from learning or taking risks to get better.
Too much attention to strengths. There is much written about maximizing strengths today. I believe in this concept when choosing a career, the best fit organization or the right team to balance out a leader. But, we also get better by knowing what needs our attention and some situations demand it.
We all need encouragement and positive feedback to stay motivated. I know I do. But, as I thought about these Olympic athletes and how much their success depends on accurate feedback, I decided it is too often overlooked. I have work to do on both giving it and accepting it.
I’ve decided that accurate feedback needs a new PR campaign and a real emphasis in business today. We can change our ways. Let’s bring it back.
Patti Johnson is the CEO of PeopleResults and can be followed @pattibjohnson or her company @people_results.
