During a recent leadership team building session, one participant shared his experience playing football (he had played for Penn State, the NFL and the Canadian Football League). During his playing days, he spent many hours in the “film room” evaluating his performance on the field. His coaches analyzed every detail of his play, including the position of his feet, where he should be looking, and where his hands were when he blocked. His time on the practice field and in the film room greatly exceeded his time on the field playing football.
Business leaders, like professional athletes, must perform under pressure. Every detail of their “play” is scrutinized and their actions mean the difference between winning and losing. Yet, most business leaders don’t have a film room where they can view objective information about their performance. Because business leaders spend their time “on the field” and very little time practicing, they often have blind spots (actions that limit their effectiveness in a business environment).
As I travel the country, working with business leaders in a wide variety of industries, I find that leaders who pay attention to the details by getting objective feedback are much more effective than those who ignore blind spots.
If you are interested in receiving objective feedback to increase effectiveness, consider these four approaches to developing your own “film room”:
- Get a Coach.
A leadership coach provides objective feedback and accountability to tackle leadership challenges.
- Solicit and Give Feedback.
Find a trusted colleague and request honest, constructive feedback. A helpful question is, “How can I do this better next time?”
- Take a Behavioral Assessment.
An assessment like the Path4 and Path6 Profiles provide insight into your strengths, struggles and relationship keys.
- Participate in a 360.
RightPath’s LQ360 is a powerful tool that solicits feedback from your colleagues. It measures five dimensions of leadership: Results, Relationships, Trust, Developing Others and Emotional Intelligence.