Motivational speaker Tony Robbins emphasizes that feelings of fear are much more powerful than feelings of pleasure. Fear is what prevents us from doing many things in life – fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of making the wrong decision and its perceived dire consequences. On this note, one of my favorite sayings is, “Those who fear they will suffer already suffer because of their fear.” Fear can be especially crippling for people who are inclined to be pessimistic.
As managers, we need to learn how to manage our fears – making decisions and striving for progress in spite of our fears, recognizing that they are a normal part of life and that pushing through necessary if we are to succeed. As the saying goes, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Another fear we need to come to terms with is the fear of getting pure, honest, no-holds-barred feedback on our performance as leaders, from the very people we manage. If you are a leader who is afraid of asking for feedback, it is likely a sign that you already know you need to improve. If you are a manager who doesn’t care about getting feedback, your role as a leader will probably be short-lived. However, if you are a manager who genuinely wants feedback, you are likely cognizant about the way in which you lead and are always looking for, and are interested in how and where you can improve.
We already know that the way we manage has a direct impact on things such as employee retention, productivity, product quality, service delivery, morale, open and honest communications (properly learned through leadership training), etc., all affecting the bottom line. What we also need to understand is that, much like the way a company surveys its customers to ensure all expectations are being met, managers must also acquire regular feedback from employees to ensure everyone and everything is operating like a well-oiled machine and that there are no issues impeding the group’s ability to meet goals and deliver expectations. If employees receive reviews from their manager, it is only fair that managers receive reviews from employees. Is it not? And when receiving such critical feedback, we, as we expect our employees to do, need to listen well, acknowledging what is being said, so that we understand what employees see as our areas of strengths and weaknesses.
This practice ties back with the need employees have to be heard and acknowledged, especially by those who manage them. Providing employees with the opportunity to express their thoughts, opinions, insights and communicate what is personally important to them, strengthens the employer-employee relationship. And what are the benefits of having this kind of relationship? I think the answers are quite obvious.