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Perceptions
- How
are you perceived at work?
- How
do you know?
- You
cannot manage what you are unaware
of.
To
effectively manage your own career you need
feedback. This means it is critical to conduct
frequent, informational "customer satisfaction
surveys".
By customers, I mean your boss, your
direct reports, your co-workers, peers, vendors
etc.
Companies spend lots of time and money
doing various types of 360 degree assessments.
Sometimes these are the only option if there is a
lot of fear and indirect communication in the
organization.
I believe we can all help to
shape our work environments. Taking the initiative
to solicit feedback is vital for your career
health as well as the health of your organization.
Take the first step to open the door and start the
process of fostering open
communication.
Here
is one option for soliciting such
feedback.
Ask
your team members (boss, subordinates, co-workers,
customers) to respond to the following questions:
- What
would you like me to stop
doing?
- What
would you like me to continue
doing?
- What
would you like me to start
doing?
This
can be done quite informally. You want to
accommodate various styles so the folks that want
to think before they respond might want to have
the option of writing down their answers, others
will be ready to "take the microphone" and start
talking.
Ask questions to clarify the
feedback, then create a plan and take action. If
you need help get it.
If
you really feel your team may not trust you enough
to open up and be honest with their feedback, try
soliciting input anonymously.
Have
a nicely decorated box at your next staff
meeting. Explain what you are doing. You are
interested in soliciting their perceptions, ideas
and suggestions for increasing your effectiveness.
Let them know you assume you are not at the
pinnacle of evolution and could of course improve
on your effectiveness. Tell them you would
appreciate them being as honest as possible to
help you in your efforts to improve.
Give
everyone a 3 X 5 card and ask them to write down a
suggestion for you - some behavior change they
feel would increase your effectiveness. Have them
place their suggestions in the box. Ask them
to be as clear and specific as possible and to
omit their name.
Conduct the rest of your
meeting as usually. Conclude the meeting and take
the box out of the meeting with you. Wait until
you are alone and calm before you go through the
suggestions. Remind yourself of the intent of this
exercise:
To gather actionable feedback. You
cannot change perceptions if you do not know what
the perceptions are.
Read the suggestions.
- Are
you shocked, hurt, and angry?
- Do
not try to figure out who said
what!
- Assess
which ones if any you can try and
implement.
Share
with your team your findings and what you are
trying to work on. Ask them to give you ongoing
feedback regarding your efforts.
Schedule
"pulse checks' to see if your folks have
experienced any changes in your
behaviors.
Thank your team for their time
and effort in making you more effective. You are
of course modeling what you would want them to do
within their own
teams. | 
