Feedback…. Sometimes It’s Hard To Take, But It’s KEY To Your Success!

FEEDBACK…it doesn’t always feel good to hear it, but there is usually an opportunity for GREAT improvement if you take it in! This week I’m going to share two examples of great feedback-taking, and my rules for doing it right. I know they will serve you if you implement them.

Example 1 – Me – “just getting it done” vs doing my best work

Recently I was given some feedback (from my online marketing genius) on my social media. I took it poorly and was a little bit offended…. to say the least. I sat with it for a day or two, then had a great meeting with the team, and together, we implemented the feedback. I expect it to produce some very positive results for us!

The reason I was able to have a productive meeting, was because I took some time to think about it, examine it, and realize that it was TRUE. I thought back and realized… “I’ve been here before”. My attitude in grade and high school was always to “just get it done”. I always got good grades so I was never particularly detail-oriented or careful about my work because I didn’t feel that it was necessary. My MBA program was similar, but one course and the final assignment almost killed me because of the high quality and attention to detail that was required to pass. It literally took every ounce of energy and brainpower I had to get good grades on those two pieces. In both of those cases, I literally STARTED OVER and did an amazing job, on the second go-round. I realized during that time that if I had just done a really great job the first time, it would have been over by now!! Obviously, I forgot the lesson though….

I realized after the feedback on my social media that I was doing this again with my online videos/content. I was wanting to just “get the great content out to you” rather than taking the time to make each video incredibly high-quality. For example, I didn’t take time to learn about ideal lighting or clipping the beginning and end of the video, to make it seem more professional. This takes more time, but I am committed to doing it now, and as I said, I expect better results because of the feedback being implemented!

Example 2 – Amazing client – a difficult paradigm shift

For the past few months, I’ve been working with a particularly amazing group of people who are turning around a big ship (business). Most of the team is on board with my “focus on the positive” and “what CAN we do?” paradigm, but one very important person was struggling. This person continued to remind us of the things that were still WRONG in the business, and it was negatively affecting the others (including myself). I reminded the client that I made them a promise, to be straight-forward, and always have their best interests at heart, and gave them this feedback with that in mind: “You MUST join us on the more positive paradigm, or this WILL NOT WORK”. After a day of contemplation, this client THANKED ME for the feedback. There is literally no better way to handle feedback. I am SO PROUD OF THIS PERSON! Especially if you have been raised in a certain way, or grown accustomed to thinking a certain way, or have had struggles for a long period of time, it is SO automatic for us to think negatively. To be able to take this feedback and thank me for it was truly one of the proudest moments of my leadership career, and I hope to be more like this person. I can’t wait to see the positive ripple effects this has on their team and business, and numbers, of course!

RULES that work for feedback

So, here are your keys to improving through feedback:
1. Ask for it
2. Take it in
3. Take some time if you need, and think about it
4. Take what you need to from it and implement positive change.

I know feedback is not your favorite, but if you can start to LOVE it, or even just ask for it and implement it, you will go so far!!! Your clients and staff have SO MUCH to share with you! Ask for it! Take it in! Take some time to think about it if you need, then implement positive changes! Go go go!

Have an incredible week!

Kelli-Rae

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