Mind Food | Feedback

One of the most crucial components of personal and professional growth is feedback. Cooking is one of those beautifully emotive crafts that is so subjective, everyone has an opinion. With social media, they also have a soapbox on which to stand and share their feedback with the world.

In my experience, some people are highly qualified to give you feedback, encouraging reflection and growth in a positive and respectful way. Others are not.

Unfortunately, the human brain has a negative bias and we tend to focus on the things we get wrong rather that what is going right.

I can’t count how many times I have gone to bed exhausted after a busy service, focussing on a single negative comment shared by a customer about their dining experience. By focussing on the one negative comment, it’s easy to discount the 100+ other guests, who simply enjoyed their meal.

Words have power.

 This is why teachers, coaches and leaders must have excellent communication skills. One poorly timed, off the cuff comment to an open mind can be the difference between someone achieving their dreams or crumbling in a heap.

 ‘Too bad you lost that game – I guess you just aren’t cut out to be an athlete’

Perhaps…..

‘Too bad you lost today but even the greatest athletes have suffered losses – that is how they learn’ 

 Subtle, yet significant.

Recently I was tuning into a blog where Tim Ferriss interviews business guru and author of ‘Good to Great’ Jim Collins. It was mind blowing. Jim gives such a simple and powerful explanation of giving quality feedback in terms of empowering your teams.

Whether you are leading your business, your team, your family or yourself, take a pause before you give feedback and consider 3 things:

-        The timing

-        The message

-        The delivery

When was the last time you gave awesome feedback?

Stay Hungry

- Glenn