Gandhi had it right – be the change you wish to see. I’ve got a client who came to me frustrated – he got dinged on a performance review with anonymous feedback that the system had not given him directly. That’s a problem. A healthy functioning system doesn’t wait for performance reviews, they give truth in love, in the moment.
Ok, so the system is imperfect. My challenge to him was to stop getting mad at the system, stop wondering when it will change, and start BEING the change. Start mining for feedback more often. A great leader FORCES the system to give direct feedback. How? Go get curious, and keep getting curious, until you begin to get the real stuff. Go seek it out. Let them know what you’re working on and ask them where they see you doing that thing, or not. Working on humility? Great, share that with your team, and ask them where they see you asking better questions, or doing a better job of listening versus coming in with all the answers. And whatever they say, follow up with more questions. Be the forcing function. Don’t wait for the system to change, be the change.
BUILT TO LEAD 