NLP At Work : The Difference That Makes the Difference in Business

Receiving feedback is a

precursor to giving it

Most of us have well-developed mechanisms for doing just the

opposite, for keeping feedback at bay. If I were to choose one

skill in this book that would put you head and shoulders above

most people (not just in business but in life), it is the ability to

receive feedback. Receiving feedback is a fundamental

precursor to being able (and having the right) to give it.

The head of the creative department in a marketing

organization wanted to develop the creative team so that they

would be open to giving each other feedback and subsequently

be increasingly open to feedback from their clients, both within

the business and externally. He called a team meeting and told

them beforehand that he wanted feedback from them.

In the team meeting he invited them to prepare individually

to give him feedback and gave them time to do this. He asked

them to think of something they would like him to do more of,

something they would like him to less of or differently, and

something with which they were happy. He then invited them to

give him the feedback and he modeled all the principles of how

to accept what they were saying with openness and learning. He

demonstrated how to live out the beliefs that underpin effective

feedback. He was open, accepting, and curious about what they

had to say. He was not in any way defensive or attacking.

The team members also became more and more open and

at the end of the meeting they commented on how valuable

they had found that time with him. Each subsequently

volunteered that they would like to go through a similar process

for themselves. This team has become a model of excellence for

the rest of the company.

Feedback on performance is the main contribution I make to

the individuals and companies with whom I work. No matter

whether I am coaching one to one or at an initial meeting with

a client, or whether I am working with the board or the key

leaders within that company, feedback is what I believe makes

the biggest difference to their performance. If they were

consistently and skillfully to give each other feedback, my role

with them would be redundant; indeed, this is my ultimate

aim, for them to do this for themselves without the need for

anyone external to the business. I aim to encourage and train

336 NLP AT WORK