BL&T No. 095: Ideas on Feedback

This post originally appeared in my weekly newsletter, BL&T (Borrowed, Learned, & Thought). Subscribe

Borrowed

"Want to fast-track your growth? Go directly to the people you have the hardest time with. Ask them what you’re doing that’s exacerbating the situation. They will surely tell you."

From "Thanks for the Feedback" by Douglas Stone, Sheila Heens [Book]

Learned

It's Monday evening. I'm writing from the car headed back home after a family-filled weekend at the Delaware beaches. Special thanks to Dana for taking the wheel.

Lately, I've enjoyed trying to look at life as a series of moments rather than chasing the next milestone. A few of my favorite moments from this weekend were:

Playing with my nieces and nephew in the pool.
Working out on the lawn with my brother Justin.
Walking our dog Gizmo with the family. It's fun to think of him as a new member of our "pack."

Anyway, there have been a few ideas brewing in my mind that I'm excited to dig into with you here. Each focuses on different aspects of running an agency, but all center around feedback.

My perspective on feedback has changed over the years. There was a time when I'd worry about what someone might say about my performance or how the team handled a project. In time, I learned that addressing or not addressing the feedback didn't make it go away, so I decided to embrace it. I knew that if I wanted to grow and improve, feedback was information that could help me see where to focus.

Are there times when receiving feedback is still uncomfortable for me? Of course but the benefits of getting it far outweigh any temporary discomfort.

Topics this week: