Improvement starts with me
It was the Scottish poet Robbie Burns (1759 – 1796) that once said:
“O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!”
which in modern English simply states ‘if only we could see ourselves as others see us’. If we are serious about improving performance in our own business role(s), whatever they may be, then it is important to start by understanding how we are doing. I clearly remember at an early stage of my managerial career being involved in what was termed an ‘upward feedback survey’ (also known as ‘360 degree feedback’) in which anonymous feedback is provided by your peers and team members as well as your boss on your own performance. I also remember the CEO at the time saying that this was not something you should necessarily “read from the top of a tall building” (😊) as you invariably get some unpleasant truths fed back! Sometimes you can be left wondering how your actions could have been interpreted in the way they were but equally you do also get some pleasant surprises as well. My point here is that we all try to behave in ways we consider reasonable but what may be ‘reasonable’ to us, may not necessarily appear so to others and so understanding how our behaviours are showing up to others is key. Here is an old Chinese parable that highlights the point:
A young man set off walking from village A to village B along a well-used track, a journey that was going to take him most of the day. As he approached the mid-point, he saw an old man sitting beside the road. They chatted for a bit and curious to know what lay ahead of him, he asked the old man what the people at the next village were like. The old man asked him “what were they like at village A?” to which he responded that they were very friendly, hospitable and he really enjoyed their company. “That is what the people are like at the next village” said the old man and happy with this response, the young man continued his journey. The following day, another young man was making the same trip along the track from village A to village B and he too spotted the elderly man sitting by the road around the half-way point. This young man was also keen to find out what might be in store for him at village B. The old man asked him “what were they like at village A?” to which this young man replied that they were unfriendly, anti-social and he was glad to be rid of their company. “That is what the people are like at the next village” said the old man.
The point here is that when we start to see patterns emerge in the relationships that we have with others, whilst we may have previously thought that ‘the others’ were at fault, if we tend to see the same problems reoccurring for us, it might be time to start to take a more critical look at our own actions and behaviours. This is not to necessarily say that we are always in the wrong, but it may be a question of style or perhaps we are filtering the information we receive through a strong personal belief system which causes us to view things differently to most. As an example, I recently coached a talented young man whose consistent complaint was that ‘people didn’t listen to him’. As we explored this further, it became clear that for him, ‘not agreeing’ meant they weren’t listening which puts a very different perspective on things. In fact, his challenge was to listen harder to others.
If you are a business leader with people responsibilities, being aware of how others perceive you is critically important otherwise you can continue to make the same mistakes over and over perhaps without even realizing it. Getting some feedback to understand where you can improve is the first step to becoming a highly effective manager and leader.
Ian Ash ACC, AInstIB
Managing Director OrgMent Business Solutions - www.ombs.com.au