Coachable Mindset = All Constructive Feedback is Taken in a Positive Way.
Reading time: 6 mins
Summary: Coachable Mindset = All Constructive Feedback is Taken in a Positive Way.
You are likely to have good and bad managers in your life. One aspect of a good manager is they normally give constructive feedback in a positive sum fashion. Whereas bad managers often give constructive feedback in a negative sum fashion.
If you can be defined by how well you take constructive feedback, not by how good your manager is, then you are likely to go much further.
Quotes
‘People who go far are hungry (work hard), coachable and read a lot.’ - Tim Doyle
“The good learn from everything and everyone, the average from themselves and the stupid already know everything.” Socrates.
“Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz.
For me, one part of ‘attitude’ is ‘do you have a Coachable Mindset?’
Marc Andreessen.
The quote:
Good market, bad team. Market wins.
Bad market, good team. Market wins.
Good market, good team. Something special happens.
An adaptation of the quote.
Coachable mindset * Bad manager = Coachable mindset wins.
Not coachable mindset * Good manager = Non coachable mindset wins.
Coachable mindset * Good manager = Something special happens.
Coachability - A core trait to cultivate
The more coachable you are =
1. The more you improve from each unit of coaching (feedback)
+ 2. The more coaching from others you are likely to receive because people who take feedback well are more likely to get more feedback :).
A coachable mindset is a superpower that unlocks growth and improvement through embracing constructive feedback.
Jingles / Humours
Coachable folks catch feedback like a pro, while the uncoachable just say ‘no, no, no’!
Take feedback with flair, or be stuck in the same chair!
Got a coachable brain? You'll be on the fast train!
Coachable’s the name, growing’s the game – or you’ll stay the same!
Feedback fumbles or growth grumbles? Be coachable, not comfortable!
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Details
CultureAmp data says that the best performers take constructive feedback well. And the worst performers take it badly.
What is the directionality here?
Option 1: One performs well, then takes feedback well.
Option 2: People who take feedback well become good performers because they grow faster.
Comment: I think it’s very much Option 2.
I’ve written in the past that I’m much more of the view that mental abilities are built, not born.
IMO you start almost all mental areas at Level 0.
You can level up by 1. Levelling yourself up; or 2. By others helping you level up.
The better you are at levelling up from others, the better you level up.
Coachable Mindset = All Constructive Feedback Taken in a Positive / Good Way.
The Matthew Effect
Adaptation
People with a Coachable Mindset (take almost all constructive feedback well) are more likely to improve at a faster pace.
People with a Non Coachable Mindset (take most constructive feedback poorly) are more likely to improve at a slower pace.
Comment
People who are better at taking constructive feedback in a positive sum way should compound mental abilities at a faster rate as the Matthew Effect says.
Coachable mindset vs Non coachable mindset
Understanding mode vs Defence Mode. Try to do understanding mode, not defence mode if you want to increase the chance of coachability.
It doesn’t mean you have to agree with all feedback.
But IMO one should at least try to understand where it came from, and see what can be learned from it. What is the root cause, and what is the response? If you feel that in fact the feedback is off, try to explain why another hypothesis makes sense.
I’d advise the following steps:
1. Acknowledge the feedback.
2. Say thank you for the feedback (this encourages more feedback).
3. Then try to understand where the feedback came from to get as much context (background information) as possible.
4. Say thanks again for bringing this up and that you’d like to go away and think about it and revert back.
5. Do the thinking, you may or may not agree with the constructive feedback.
6. Revert back with the percentage you agree with the feedback (eg from 0-100%) with thoughts as to why and try to have a positive sum discussion.
Positive sum constructive feedback vs Negative sum constructive feedback
I ummed and ahhed about putting this in as the point of this blog is ‘coachable mindset’, not ‘positive sum feedback’. But here is something quickly anyways.
A framework to increase the chance your feedback is positive sum =
1. Reiterate that you are on the same team and here to help (them improving is better for you as their team mate, manager, the company, etc)
+ 2. You have noticed the following. Give ideally 1+ examples with a framework like ‘Situation, Behaviour, Impact’ of whatever is relevant.
+ 3. Try to generalise the ‘behaviour’ into a broader theme / principle and say why you think this behaviour pattern could be detrimental.
+ 4. Attempt to put forward what you feel would be a better way of doing things than the current approach.
+ 5. Ask for any thoughts they have.
+ 6. Maybe don’t ask for thoughts in the moment, have them in understanding mode, then suggest you loop back in eg a week on this topic.
A rearticulation of the above 6 stages in briefer form:
I think in Situation A, Behaviour B had Impact C.
I believe if you did Behaviour D, instead of Behaviour B, the Impact would be much better than Impact C. Any thoughts on this?
Ideally not, ‘what you did was bad’. But, the better you are taking on feedback, the better you grow. If all you are given is bad quality feedback, still do your best to turn it into an upgrade!
Feedback = Upgrade opportunity.
Many say part of what drives good outcomes in business is Psychological Safety.
Psychological Safety = Partially on receivers end = Is someone good at taking Constructive Feedback?
I think normally Psychological Safety is talked about as being something a manager or company creates. And I think there is much validity to this, but also, I do think it’s partially on individuals to create. IE do you make it safe for your manager to give you feedback?
Psychological safety = 1. Company + 2. Manager + 3. Employee (Direct)
If you can be the best at receiving feedback well AKA creating psychological safety for your manager to give you constructive feedback, then you are likely to get a lot more feedback and thereby improve a lot more.
Coachable mindset => Take feedback well => Improve more => Create psychological safety for your manager => Get more constructive feedback => Improve more.
If you have to tread on eggshells all the time because someone isn’t coachable (is bad at taking constructive feedback), then it’s hard to try and help them.
People like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are famous for being hard task masters, giving direct, and at times, brutal feedback. Many say that looking back on it, the times they worked with these two were the most rewarding of their careers.
If you only take away one thing
Serenity prayer. “Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other.”
You can't control whether you have a boss who is good or bad at giving constructive feedback, but you can control whether you take feedback well or badly.
“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ― Viktor Frankl
Having a Coachable Mindset should mean = 1. Constructive feedback is taken well so you get more improvement + 2. More constructive feedback from your manager due to psychological safety, so you get more improvement :)
So, Coachable Mindset = Improvement Squared