Introduction 

How do you get feedback?  If you have a boss, chances are you get periodic performance reviews.  They're focused on the numbers, as they should be, and might include your boss's perception of your people skills, client skills, teamwork, etc. 

If you're the top dog, you may have a board of directors who again will be focused on the numbers.  Hopefully you also talk to clients and partners, and other advisors to get some sense of how to improve your performance. 

But What About My Leadership Skills? 

If you're in charge of more than a handful of people, it's hard to know how they perceive you.  (But you do want to know, don't you?) 

Quite a few years ago I was for the first time leading a large organization (more than 100 people).  The company was very large, meaning I was in middle management.  Things were going reasonably well, projects were getting done, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job. 

The company that year got excited about a new practice called upward feedback, so they instituted a formal program for all management above a certain level.  We would all collect upward feedback from our people, share it with our own bosses, and it would be part of our appraisals.  OK, I'm pretty confident.  Bring it on. 

The feedback took me down like a punch in the gut.  I had some good points, but I got some awfully low scores in areas that basically labeled me as intimidating and unapproachable.  Now I have my faults, but these would not have made the list on my own self appraisal. 

The score is the score, but I didn't understand.  There were some verbatims that came with the numbers, but they were way too general.  I needed more information.   No way was this going to continue. 

Look Out, I'm Wired 

Fortunately, I went about this the right way.  I brought together a couple of skip level small groups, and I opened up to them.  I showed them the data (i.e. the feedback scores), and the limited verbatim feedback.  I made it clear that they were in the safest environment possible; they could tell me I was worse than Attila the Hun and I would thank them and never hold it against them. 

They were great people, and they responded to my plea for help.  While there were several ideas they gave me to improve my approachability, the number one issue they cited was my office!  

Now I had a great office.  The building had glass bubble towers, and my office was in a bubble.  All glass, floor to ceiling, great view.  I had a great desk too.  It was big, old and solid.  When we had to knock on wood in my office, we had real wood for knocking.

We held lots of informal meetings in my office, and it seems that was where the problem started.  People would pull up chairs, to my big, old, solid, imposing desk.  And I would be sitting behind that big old desk in a big, comfortable leather chair.  I wasn't trying to be intimidating, just comfortable. 

It wasn't the only change I made, but I quickly rearranged that office.  No, I didn't get rid of the desk.  After all, it was a beauty.  What I did was push it up against a wall.  Now when I sat at the desk, I faced the wall.  When someone came into the office, I had to turn away from the big desk and face people in an open area.  I also worked on smiling more. 

Did It Work? 

Yes, and my later upward feedback results proved it.  But the company soon moved past "upward feedback".  Today they and many other companies have a 360 feedback program involving bosses, subordinates, clients and partners.  They don't focus much on the subordinate part. 

As a leader, you need upward feedback.  You need it for yourself, so you can continually improve your leadership effectiveness.  You need it so you know how people are responding to the ideas, direction and support you provide them. 

Ask for it formally, at regular intervals.  Six months is good, but even if it's only once a year, do it.  Share the results with your people, so they know they were heard.  Act on it when you can, and when you decide not to take action on their input, tell them what you've decided and why.   

Confident leaders go out of their way to seek critical feedback.  Be a confident leader.