“Feedback,” according to leadership guru Ken Blanchard, “is the breakfast of champions.” If that’s the case, judging by a recent survey published by the Wall Street Journal, managers are either starving or eating sugar coated Ding-Dongs at breakfast.
Great feedback involves a receptive mind wanting feedback, and people with the ability to describe behaviors, impact, and qualitative value (e.g. not-so-effective, very effective, lousy). No feedback generally means no improvement – and the same truth applies not just to individuals, but for teams as well. And no feedback means you generally overestimate your abilities because you don’t know any better.
While the article is not an advertisement for the benefits of coaching, it might as well be. Read “Bosses Overestimate Their Managing Skills” here.
Life Back West is an occasional set of writings focused on ways people, teams and organizations can be both more effective (doing the right thing) and more efficient (doing the right thing well). More about executive, career and team / leadership coaching services can be found at the “About J. Mike Smith and Back West, Inc.” sidebar or the “Hire Me” tab above. You can also read an online interview with me at WhoHub, as well as participate in my learning community courtesy of KnowledgeCrush.