“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.”
— Frank A. Clark —
Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to give feedback and we may be anxious about how the other person will react. Likewise, we are often not used to receiving it so we can be just as uncomfortable and not good at hearing what we are being told. However, without feedback, mistakes aren’t learned from and poor practice can go unchecked or unchallenged.
One of the key lessons from Kim Scott’s “Radical Candor” is the importance of receiving and giving feedback with genuine care. Here at NaXum, the feedback that we receive is the key to helping us see our blind spots. It is important to acknowledge that it is an opportunity for us to grow. We must understand that the feedback we receive and give to our team provides these three main benefits:
- Appreciation – motivates and encourages
- Coaching – helps you improve
- Evaluation – helps you understand what’s expected of you
Listening to feedback can be hard. But feedback is how we grow. Feedback helps. Just like bloodwork, receiving feedback allows us to diagnose ourselves on what’s needed to be done for us to improve. Both aims to identify the areas that need attention.
