Hey everyone! This week I chose to discuss the theme of feedback and its importance in a leadership’s behavior and overall success. I think this is an essential topic to discuss because at some point or another, we all have either given or received feedback (whether in a leadership capacity or otherwise), and I think it is a key factor playing into effective leadership.
The best leaders are ones who can care and motivate their followers on a personal level, and one way to do this in an impactful way is to ask for feedback from them. In doing so, not only are the followers given an opportunity to suggest changes in the way that the organization or company is currently run, but also the followers can praise certain aspects of leadership that are going well and working to the best interest of all.
I work at a community pool near my house, and I remember that one year they asked us to give honest feedback on the management and to suggest aspects of work that could be improved. Out of my four years of working at this pool, this was the only occasion in which they asked us about what we as lifeguards thought about the club, and I thought that was peculiar!
From an employee’s perspective, we would know what works best and we would have the best suggestions on how to run the facility, so I would think that feedback from employees would be the best opportunity to improve the workspace.
I think that a lot of times, management or leaders in general do not want to hear that they have not been doing things efficiently, so in that sense constructive criticism is not often taken well. Also, asking for feedback and parsing through all the answers given takes a significant amount of effort from management’s end.
Additionally, I think employees are less likely to share their honest opinions and criticism when they think that their jobs would be in jeopardy. I felt exactly this when giving feedback at my job. I was worried that in suggesting what I thought would work best in terms of running how the guards are supervised I would be seen and treated poorly by the manager.
Although they were asking for our honest feedback, I think it would be foolish to assume they would be pleased to hear negative aspects of the job. Regardless of leaders’ expectations, I believe that feedback can prove to be a powerful tool in building a cohesive team that works well together.
I super, super strongly believe that self-awareness is one of the most valuable and important traits that one can come to possess. Being able to recognize your flaws and mistakes is vital to growth and improvement. Of course, it’s not always easy being self-aware. So, being open to feedback and constructive criticism is so important!!! I definitely think that not enough people are open to hearing about what they can do better, especially leaders, who need it most!
I like this, this is a really important aspect of leadership that people don’t talk about as much. Of course, people talk about how a leader should be charismatic and self-assured and all of that, but not as often about how a leader should be open to constructive criticism like this. Being able to ask for feedback is crucial, and I think more importantly, a leader needs to foster an environment where asking for feedback is reasonable and doesn’t feel like a trap. Constructive criticism is good for everyone!