[April 02, 2015] Between 1970 and 1999 South Korean airlines had a number of accidents that put them at the bottom in aviation safety. The reason was traced to a cultural issue whereby junior pilots would not correct senior pilots or give them satisfactory feedback on piloting skills.
A good friend of mine was a senior officer in the U.S. Marine Corps who used to tell me that one of the biggest challenges for a senior Marine leader was getting good feedback. The reason he said of the difficulty was that most people are afraid to tell their boss that the boss is not doing something right. Whether fear or cultural barriers, quality feedback for leaders is essential for improved performance. The question then is, “How to get good feedback?”
Leaders are already aware of the barriers to feedback since moving upward in any bureaucracy they personally experienced those obstacles to the communication. Yet, getting good feedback is only part of the issue (as addressed below) but the leader must have a thick enough skin to tolerate it and have courage to act on the feedback to improve themselves.
Here are some techniques to help anyone get better feedback.
1. Create a work culture that encourages quality feedback without risk to either the one providing the feedback or the one receiving it.
2. Identify you own personal strengths and weaknesses. Also prioritize those items into what you want to improve.
3. Set up an ongoing 360 degree assessment program, administered by a third party, that requests comments from more senior leaders, peers, junior workers, and customers regarding behavior and skills. The results should be interpreted by an outside expert.
4. Take courses in leadership and read about how leaders have improved themselves. Those taking the class and the lecturer can often provide feedback.
5. Ask young people, not in your organization, about you. Often they will give the unvarnished truth if you pick the right ones.
While there are other techniques, these five generally require time and effort on the part of others. They should be thanked and in the future it is always a good idea to give them feedback on how you implemented their comments. Leadership is always about getting better. Without feedback, this will not occur.
South Korea airline pilots today are among the best in the world. Several factors helped make this possible, but the encouragement of feedback from junior co-pilots helped make this possible. Also, senior U.S. military leaders now have a program that gives them improved feedback.
Ken Blanchard, a management guru, was right when he said that “feedback is the breakfast of champions!”
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