Great Day Team,
The email from Eric on Friday left me wide-eyed and amazed. Our own CEO, with a tremendous amount of courage, went forth to share his full 360-degree feedback with our entire organization. As I read the full report, my mind was spinning with a great deal of feelings. My first thought was how this was an incredible example of our growth culture in action. Here is our CEO leading the way, sharing his edges, with a willingness to ask for feedback and help from others to learn more about his behaviors and blind spots and then taking it a step further to hold himself accountable to become stronger and better with a plan in writing to get there. It’s brave, incredibly difficult, and finally, in my humble opinion, awe-inspiring. I also thought about the thoughtfulness of the staff who provided feedback, and the psychological safety that was created for everyone involved for this to come to fruition.
I was reminded by one of our All-Hands meetings in the past where Vertical and Horizonal skills were presented. It was summed up perfectly: The Horizontal skills are all about what we want/need to DO, and the Vertical skills are how we want to BE. When we are Proud Owners, and can own the good, the great, and the messy; when we can truly view feedback as a gift and begin to work hard to master our edges, this is the growth mindset that will propel us to become 1% better, eventually becoming the best versions of ourselves, reaching our highest potential. Imagine the impact this has both personally and organizationally.
When we care enough about our colleagues and are willing to provide thoughtful feedback with care to help them grow because we genuinely want them to succeed, this is what GREAT looks like. Who we want to BE matters deeply to us all, and to that point, enclosed is some additional inspiration from Dr. Joe Hirsh, global keynote speaker and creator of the technique, Feedforward principles. In this 8-minute Ted Talk, “The Joy of Getting Feedback,” Dr. Hirsh shares his painful experiences of what feedback used to feel like when receiving it and then his journey of finding a way to shift how we can all experience it, truly as a gift. (Click here to view video.)
I am excited for each of our own growth journeys ahead and the continuing creation of feedback loops and structures baked into our everyday work, supporting each other through it all! I would love to hear your thoughts on the video and more in the comments section below!
Wishing you all a Better We, Better Week! 😊
Lori Beth
