Are You Getting Feedback?

It's easy to start coasting through life and continuing to do what you have always done. The problem with this is that what got you here will not get you there.

Within my business, I have always been focused on moving forward. I'm always looking for what needs to happen next. What's coming up? What do we need? Who do we need? Always looking forward. Although I believe this is where most of my focus should be as the leader, I need to look in the rear view mirror every once in a while and understand what I left behind.

I've made a point to start sitting down with clients who's projects we have finished in order to get real feedback. What worked? What do we need improvement on? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? And so on...

The tricky thing about meetings like this is that I need to make sure I go in with an open mind. Do not take things personally. This is an opportunity to connect and serve the clients even more than we already have.

Most of us say that we like to receive feedback but the truth is we like to receive positive feedback. The negative feedback is a little harder to swallow and accept even if it's coming from a loving place. Typically we do what we can to avoid pain and this exercise may very well be heading right into it. That is assuming you take it personally instead of professionally.

Now that I've started doing this with clients, I'm looking for other areas I can do this in. What kind of feedback can I get from my parents, my wife, my son or my team? Anybody who is important in my life.

As you start working through this, there's one important thing to remember...

Not all feedback is equal. Choose wisely who you decide to get feedback from.

When the VW Van broke down last summer...