 |
It’s a well known fact that communication effectiveness is
based 7% on the words we use, 38% on our tone of voice and 55% on
what people see us do. When “what we say” and “what
we do” are inconsistent, others take cues from what we do.
Effective leaders exhibit a high level of consistency between words
and actions. Our ability to lead others is linked inextricably to
our ability to lead ourselves.
Executives and managers in all areas of business tend to say (and
believe) one thing and yet, unconsciously, do another. Not about
everything – the subjects that trip us up differ – but we
all have blind spots about our jobs, about our organizations, about
others and especially about ourselves.
This happens for two reasons: Most of us don’t seek feedback.
We may even avoid feedback if we sense dissatisfaction. But, even
when we do solicit feedback, others may be uncomfortable
cooperating for reasons that range from not wanting to upset us (at
best) to fear of retribution (at worst). If trust doesn’t
exist, the person approached for feedback may even provide false or
misleading information. Obtaining objective and constructive
feedback, no matter how distressing, is critical to our ability to
grow and develop and, in some cases, it may be necessary to
survive.
Working with both men and women in professional service and
manufacturing firms, I have discovered that personal or
organizational crises invariably are triggered by blind spots.
Problems evident to others often are not apparent to the
individual, or group, causing them. That is, until the bridge
collapses, the project bombs, the client changes firms, the bank
forecloses, the key employee quits, your department is downsized or
– most noticeably – you are fired. The cost both
personally and organizationally of these blind spots is huge and
avoidable.
Whether your organization has a formal 360˚ feedback system or
not, we all need to develop and implement a formal system to elicit
feedback from supervisors (in the case of principals, consider
asking your Managing Principal to participate), colleagues, and
subordinates. Feedback from supervisors is not enough. Our peers
and subordinates often have the most insightful comments. The
challenge we face with supervisors, peers and subordinates is
gaining access to their honest and candid views. Here are a few
tips for setting up your feedback system.
- Secure a neutral interviewer or coach, someone you respect and
trust, to gather and synthesize the data. While large firms may
have someone in their human resource departments who can do this,
those of you in smaller firms will need to search for a coach.
There are many management consultants around who can serve in this
capacity, for a fee. Other recommendations can be gathered from the
business school at local universities, trusted clients, colleagues
and even your local AIA component.
- Meet with the interviewer to discuss the process, your goals,
your perspectives on your strengths and development needs, and
“special” issues you want probed.
- The interviewer should
--Meet individually with your supervisor, 2 or 3 other members of
higher management with whom you interact and 2 or 3 of your peers
to gain perspective on your strengths and development needs. In
some cases, key vendors or longstanding clients may be good sources
of data.
--Conduct a focus group of your employees and colleagues, asking
for their perspectives on your strengths and development needs. In
cases where group cohesion is lacking, one-on-one interviews might
be needed.
--Observe you on-the-job for half a day to look for concrete
examples of the behaviors that have been mentioned by others. Even
though you know you are being observed, the behaviors will surface
because you are unaware of them. If your interactions vary
dramatically with the setting (e.g., onsite versus in the office),
consider observations in each setting.
--Synthesize input from interviews, focus groups and observations
to identify your areas of leadership development leverage.
--Meet with you to review the data and findings.
--If time constraints prevent collecting all suggested data, the
interviewer should gather some input from each perspective
(supervisor, peers, employees). Try not to sacrifice the half-day
of observations, which almost always provides the most helpful
data.
- Expect some surprises and disappointments. You are unearthing
issues not known to you previously. Executives often express
feelings of hurt, anger, confusion, denial, defensiveness, and
betrayal at this stage. What separates “leaders” from
“leader wannabees” is the ability to channel those
feelings into positive and productive change. Remember, most of
what you learn is widely known already by those who work with you.
Isn’t it better that you know it, too? Additionally,
executives with the strength to participate in this feedback
process earn sympathy and admiration from those around them. Many
former critics become advocates once they have “dumped”
on you without retaliation.
- Based on what you’ve learned, work with your coach to
establish leadership development goals including an action plan and
milestones.
- Meet with your employees to share the results of the process
and the goals you have set. During this session, avoid the
temptation to attribute particular pieces of feedback to
individuals. Explain how you intend to change your behavior. Ask
for their help in keeping you on track. Your openness and
dedication to ferreting out behaviors that impede organizational
effectiveness will impress most of them.
- Draft a memo to others who participated in the process,
thanking them and mentioning one or two changes you are making
(assuming there are any!) as a result of their feedback.
- Six months after setting your goals, survey your employees
anonymously regarding the extent to which they have seen
improvements. Ask for suggestions about how to continue progress.
Typically, surveys of employees 6 months post-process show that
greater than 85% perceive improvements in the executive’s
leadership skills.
Your future depends on overcoming leadership blind spots. Learn
to seek and act on constructive feedback. Become the leader you
always wanted to be, or thought you were.
Christine Cowan-Gascoigne is President and Founder of The
Leadership Company in Cleveland, Ohio, an Adjunct Professor at Case
Western Reserve University teaching leadership theory and practice,
a former consultant with McKinsey & Company and a graduate of
the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Consistent
with her interest in human development, she also serves as a
Licensed Independent Social Worker at Hopewell, a therapeutic farm
community in Mesopotamia, Ohio for adults with mental
illness.
|
