Feedback - The Mechanism to Greatness™ Part 1 of 3

I few weeks ago I seat in a management training seminar called "Feedback - The Shortcut to Success". The instructor defined feedback as the following, "Feedback is information about behavior and performance that helps align our actions with our goals."

Since this meeting I have thought a lot about how feedback both positive and negative have positively impacted my life. You may ask, "How could have negative feedback positively impact your life?" I will explain this in Part 2 of my blog series called "Feedback - The Mechanism to Greatness™". Here is how I will break down the three part series on feedback.

Part One - Create an Environment Where Feedback Is Alive
Part Two - All Feedback is Good
Part Three - Constant Feedback Is King

Part One - Create an Environment Where Feedback is Alive

When we look through history at successful people you will discover they have the following three traits:

1. Persistence
2. Passion
3. Capacity to Learn (How well they learn from mistakes)

The capacity to learn makes them good and there ability to learn from mistakes makes them great. Whether in business or life, there is a need to create an environment where feedback is alive and well. Feedback helps us align our behaviors with our actions and our goals. It helps us truly understand what we are doing well and what we can be doing better. It helps us become the person or company we want to become.

Feedback from customers will make a business strong, when a company listens to the feedback and creates strategies to turn the feedback into action. Feedback from team members on how you can do better as a manager, will create an environment where trust can live and with trust, a team is empowered to accomplish great things. Feedback from friends helps strengthen relationships and trust me, life is too short to not have great relationships.

Here are two simple tips to create an environment where feedback is alive:

1. Tell those that matter most that you value open feedback. This is an important first step, but you will be tested when you get your first round of feedback and it is not positive. Take that feedback and learn from what is really being said. You are creating an environment, not all the feedback will be negative. You will really start to see the positive impact good feedback will have on your business and life.

2. Develop processes to capture feedback. Remember feedback both positive or negative is good. It is important to capture feedback and develop processes to turn positive or negative feedback into strategies and actions that positively impact our businesses and our lives.

In my next blog post, "All Feedback is Good - The Mechanism to Greatness Part 2", I will talk about not fearing feedback or criticism, but to fear its absence.