Just relax and listen to your feedback

I don't need your feedback

Ok, so having a sense of urgency has been drilled into me from a very early age. It was even more so when I was in the service. I'm the oldest of 3 boys, and being the first at things was in my blood. I was also hyper-focused on growing up and doing the next thing. I was living in the future. Any feedback that I got from my family went in one ear and out the next. I knew better, I got this. Looking back though, a lot of things could have gone better.

Getting feedback from my friends was a bit different. I listened more to what they had to say. Taken with a grain of salt, their feedback was held a bit closer to the chest if you will. I loved my parents back then, and still do, but they were the 'old' and 'out of touch' folks who were kinda boring. If I were to go back in time to give myself some feedback, I would ask myself to slow down, to enjoy each moment, to give more love to people and to work on listening more. Listening is one of the keys to success.

Listen, feedback is all around you

Feedback can be as direct as "Hey, you made a great presentation the other day, or as indirect as a subtle glance from a coworker that shows appreciation for the extra help. Feedback is heard when you tap on something hard and you hear the 'ting' or the hot taste in your mouth when you chomp on a Jalapeño pepper. Pretty much everything around you gives you feedback in some way, but a lot of us take it for granted. Your ability to listen to all the feedback around you will help you better understand your environment, the people you are working with and yourself. Regardless of how you interpret your feedback, be it strength or growth, both are tools to help guide you on your journey.

Sometimes feedback comes right at the jugular

So remember how I told you I have a sense of urgency for things? I was talking to a direct report at a previous job and I received some feedback that really helped me shift my perspective. He said to me, in so many words, "Chris, we're building office management software, there is very little urgency needed here." First, it took me off guard, especially given he was also in a leadership role. After our conversation though, I kept coming back to his comment. He was right, there was very little urgency needed with what we were building.

But how can you say this you are asking? It's a competitive business and if you aren't moving fast, your competition will pass you by. Sure, maybe they will, but at what expense? This may not be the right answer, but I'd rather focus on delivering the best, most intuitive application that solves my customers problems than rush to deploy many buggy, half-baked features in a race with my competition. With over 8+ billion people in this world, there are plenty of customers to help. No need to rush. This pill is still difficult to swallow, but I appreciated the feedback nonetheless.

Feedback is one of the keys

Whether you like it or not, feedback is something you will get throughout your life. As a kid, as a friend, in college, from a coworker, by a spouse, and even as a grandparent. Your ability to listen, understand and to act on the feedback you receive will help you grow as all of the previously mentioned and more.

Do yourself a favor and listen more. And if you aren't getting the feedback you need to get yourself to the next level, find the people who can help you and ask them for feedback. It's that simple.