If given in the right spirit, feedback from others is an amazing thing. The book “Thanks for the Feedback” offers great ways to share productively with others, and I touched on a few other ideas in a post from last year.
If you can stay open to feedback (and hopefully it’s delivered in the right spirit), you’ll come out better for it. In his book “Integrity“, author Henry Cloud shared this short story about a man that had just finished giving a presentation:
When he finished, one of the more experienced guys looked up and said, “Want some feedback?” He said it in a way that left you wondering whether he was going to give sage advice or rail at the young man for being out to lunch in some way. There was just no way to tell from his poker face. But I will never forget the young superstar’s immediate response: “By all means. Give me a gift.” He saw the feedback, whatever it was, as a gift because it could give him some reality that he did not know. I remember thinking, “We will be watching this guy’s accomplishments for a long time.”
“Give me a gift” — what a great way to think about it! You’ll certainly have some people that choose to give feedback in way to make themselves look good, but most feedback is intended to help. The more you can accept it as a gift, the more value it will bring.
If you want to be the kind of person that gives gracious and helpful feedback, reading “Thanks for the Feedback” is a great place to start.
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