By Barry Stern, Ph.D.
The last few months have provided me a spate of opportunities to provide 360 survey feedback to senior executives. Without exception it was easy to see the “towering strengths” that catapulted these folks to organizational heights. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of their makeup was their intellectual and sometimes emotional inhalation of the feedback. Intimate and knowledgeable about themselves, their passion for converting the feedback into action permeated each conversation.
Last week found me doing this work in my New York City hometown. Hopping on mass transit around the island, I found myself amidst a sea of magazines and newspapers competing with one another for “Michael Jackson Mind Share”. My personal favorites were the two line rhymes and alliterations such as “Wacko Jacko” and his “Creepy Crypts”. One need only glance at the more recent photos of Jackson to know something had gone frighteningly wrong.
I’m sure because of the juxtaposition of these two events I found myself speculating about Jackson’s “feedback environment”. There were undeniable towering strengths. The first time I saw him moonwalk I was convinced he had figured out a way to defy the laws of physics. But he was of course very human. If Jackson did have a serious problem, how many people talked with him? Did he listen? Was he such an “alpha” presence that to be with him was to be reduced to sycophantism? For goodness sakes, did anyone tell poor Michael that he was starting to look like an alien? Where was the feedback loop?
Perhaps they did. Perhaps what we witnessed was the horrible distortion that results when power, wealth, and world class talent meet unwillingness to hear the words of others. DDI’s President Bob Rogers will cite receptivity to feedback as the most important interpersonal predictor of leadership success. For me, I want to redouble my efforts to continue learning, and I am re-inspired to amplify the voices of others to those executives who so profoundly impact the professional fate and well being of so many.
How successful are the leaders in your organizations at taking a step back to really hear and understand the feedback they receive? And how aggressively do you pursue creating a feedback-rich culture?
Barry Stern is vice president, Consulting Services and Delivery for Development Dimensions International (DDI).
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