Many organizations want to keep things positive and optimistic. But we mustn’t forget that acknowledging and learning about where we make mistakes is a positive thing, and is part of what brings those optimistic visions to fruition. My chess teacher as a child (Ed Nicholson) used to say, “Losing = Winning. Because when you lose, you learn. And the more you learn, the closer you come to winning.” This principle applies in business.
Mistakes lead to learning. Learning leads to Success. In order to be successful, you must be willing to acknowledge mistakes and view them as a good thing.
The alternative is to assume you have no flaws whatsoever, and just hope you’re right.
We, as leaders, must learn to be honest enough to acknowledge that we don’t know everything. This is a necessary part of the process. It’s something every servant leader knows and openly acknowledges, and most leaders will give it lip service. The trouble is: this is hard to follow up on with action.
One way to act on this principle of servant leadership is to simply ask the question, “What have I missed?” to your organization as a whole. It will build trust, create transparency, and provide you more feedback and data than you have ever had.
The risk: you might (and will) get complaints. You will receive feedback which is hard to act on – but even this low-quality feedback can reveal trends which lead to actionable input.
Another risk: you will get more feedback and information than you expected. If you don’t have a plan to handle, sort, and assess this feedback before you ask for it, you will feel flooded. So don’t ask until you’ve created a plan.
Another “risk”: your people will see you as human. Fallible. Capable of mistakes and errors. Vulnerable. If you think this is a negative thing, then we have some other issues which are much more significant than “I need more useful feedback.”
The reward: you will get insightful, actionable feedback from your purpose-driven and emotionally-invested employees. You will increase trust. Your managers may even model your behavior, enforcing transparency and trust throughout your company. Your behavior will open doors for future discussions.
Inviting feedback opens doors.
Shutting down and ignoring feedback closes doors. (Surprise!)