Do You Accept Constructive Feedback?

I’ve said in the past that one of the greatest gifts a leader can give to team members is the gift of honest feedback. Taking the time to provide a quick word of encouragement or constructive criticism can go a long way toward showing employees that they are noticed and valued; that you are invested in their future and their place on the team.

But there is a flipside to this, as well: A hallmark of leadership is that you don’t just offer feedback, but also welcome it in your own professional life. Great leaders actively court feedback from colleagues and from employees—and don’t get their feathers ruffled when the feedback is less than positive.

Receiving the Gift of Feedback

It’s a simple fact of life: None of us like having our shortcomings pointed out to us, yet other people can often identify our faults more accurately than we can. When you’re willing to graciously accept that kind of feedback—not bristling or getting defensive, but actually engaging with it and implementing some changes—it shows that you’re a humble leader. It shows that what you care about is seeing all members of your team improve their performance and get better results over time.
When your team members come to you with feedback, then, it’s important to accept and even embrace it—not brush it aside. Some tips for taking constructive feedback well include:

• Don’t take it personally. Remember that everyone has blind spots and skills that need further developing. The fact that you have some areas to work on does not mean you’re a bad person, and that’s surely not what your team members want you to think. The goal is for you to get better, and your team members are just trying to help you—not insult you!
• Specificity is always a good thing. “You’re not a good communicator” is not great feedback; if your team members approach you with something like that, ask them for something more specific. That shows that you really want to improve, and it gives you measurable goals to work toward.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help! If your team members identify problem areas, maybe they can also help you brainstorm some solutions.
• Be grateful. Say thank you for the feedback—remembering that, for your employees, it’s probably really hard to approach their boss or manager with words of constructive criticism!
• Offer to return the favor and do an employee appraisal for anyone who comes to you with feedback—not in a tit-for-tat manner, but in the interest of making everyone on the team even better!

Remember: Feedback is a gift. Give it—but also open yourself to receiving it!

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.

He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micro managing the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.

For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

Ceasar Salad and Leadership

Hillary Clinton Has Just Realized Personality Is Important!

"People do business with people who they like, who are like them" This is Business 101! I was watching Meet the Nation on CBS this Sunday morning and I was amazed to hear one of the commentators say that Hillary Clinton had just discovered that personality was going to be important in the presidential race.

To me this remark was kind of funny and struck a chord. You would think that everyone in the presidential primaries, knows that people will vote for you if they like you.

The issues are important don't get me wrong, however people buy feelings and emotions and until Hillary Clinton showed some emotion she had little connection and rapport with the voters.

If a candidate shows little emotion, although their arguments and intent are good there will only be a few voters in their audience that they will connect with. However, when people have that warm feeling when someone is truly loved the sky is the limit. If Hillary wants to win the election, she must be truly loved.

The question is, how can she accomplish this?

In my program "Striving for Excellence" which is currently playing on YouTube http://youtube.com/ I discussed two triads. The Personal and Professional Triads, specific principles that one must understand in order to be successful. If any of the candidates can master these triads they will surely gain the presidency.

The legs of Professional Triad are Love, Appreciation and Respect. In order for any candidate to win the race the American people are going to have to fall in love with the candidate. It's going to be important for the candidates to demonstrate in return their appreciation and love of the American people and their willingness to make a difference.

Lastly, the American people have got to respect their candidate. With the economy slipping these days, we want somebody that we can respect that will tell the truth. This is what the American people deserve!

Any candidate who runs in this race, and doesn't garner the respect of the American people will surely lose the election.

The Personal Triad in some respects may be even more important than the Professional Triad. The Legs of the Personal Triad are Faith, Forgiveness And Gratitude. The next president of this country must be a person who possesses an amazing amount of faith. I'm not talking about faith in a religious sense. I'm talking about faith in their abilities in the abilities of the American people to rise above the challenges that we face every day.

The candidate must also possess an enormous capacity of Forgiveness. They will need to be able to forgive themselves and forgive others, because the decisions that they will make may be the most challenging they ever face in their lives.

The last is Gratitude, this leg is like a magnet that attracts all success. When a person is grateful for their circumstances, even in the darkest of times, they will attract the best for the American people.

I believe that the candidate that can harness these principles will be the next president of the United States. I just hope the American people make the right decision!

Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker who works with organizations that want to Develop Great Leaders “Through Excellence in Communication and Team Work”. For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, Audio Programs and learning programs contact (888) 267-6098 or mailto:Rick@drrickgoodman.com (http://www.drrickygoodman.com/)

A Day to Be Thankful for Technology

When I woke up this morning and opened the refrigerator the remnants of the Thanksgiving meal were still in sight. I started to reflect on that day and everything that I was thankful for that has occurred this in my life this year. I was thankful to be able to touch people's lives as I traveled throughout the United States, giving seminars on Teambuilding and Success. It was then I started to think about what else I was grateful for.

The one thing that kept popping up in my mind was the fact that I had learned to master some simple technologies that previously I would have never explored because I thought they were just for people that were technologically oriented. And that was not me!

It has been my experience that there are many people that are fearful of new technology and the application of it just like me. What I found out is if we embrace this technology it could finally give us an opportunity to add balance and abundance to our lives.

Right now, one of the technologies that I'm utilizing is a product called Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0 preferred http://www.nuance.com/ it is a voice recognition software program that I'm currently using to write this blog. All it takes is the program and a headset with a microphone as I'm speaking the words are being typed right in front of my eyes. You see one of my weaknesses, was that I had never taken a typing class in high school or college. So my speed was probably 15 to 20 words per minute and that was fast for me. You can just imagine how one would take me to write it to a three-page essay or article. Now with this technology I am able to type as fast as 160 words per minute, which saves me massive amounts of time to do some of the other things that I love to do.

Another new technology I learned about was to utilize a digital voice recorder in order to produce products. In just the last year we have created six volumes of continuing legal education for our company Advantage Legal Seminars http://www.advantagelegalseminars.com/ , which is now approved in 19 states and growing by the day.

I learned about another technology called Skype http://www.skype.com/, which is a voice operated Internet provider service, and it's free. This service enables me to speak with people anywhere in the world at no charge as long as they sign up for Skype also, which is at no charge.

To take things one step further. I purchased a web cam called the Logitech fusion web cam http://www.logitech.com/ and when I pare it with my Skype phone I'm able to conduct conference calls with people around the world. This truly brings our universe closer together!

This brings me to one of my new best friends. Mr. Julious Joy who works for company called Flat World Solutions http://www.outsource2india.com/ his company provides a whole menu of services that can take the load off of small businesses. In my case, they do a great job of data entry, keeping up my e-mail, database and freeing up my time so I can work on projects that need my immediate attention. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm so thankful that I decided to embrace technology and I think you will be too.

Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker who works with organizations that want to develop great leaders. For more information on Ricks speaking programs, Audio Programs and learning programs contact (888) 267-6098 or rick@drrickgoodman.com http://www.drrickgoodman.com/