Boss to Coach Conversation 2 of 5 Everyday Feedback
Week 1 – Defining Feedback

Getting Feedback Ready: Understanding You: The Impact of What You Do and What You Say

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Lesson 4 Getting Feedback Ready: Understanding You. The Impact of What You Do and What You Say

When thinking about feedback, it is important to note we see the world through our filters.  One way to understand our filters is through the language of CliftonStrengths that defines our talents.  A talent is a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behaviour that can be productively applied.  It becomes a strength when you can provide near perfect performance almost every time.  It has a positive impact not only for you but also the people around you. 

Turning a talent into a strength comes through…

  • Knowledge and skills Investment in time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base

  • Character Developed through our experiences and what we choose to learn and do from them

Gallup defines weakness as anything that gets in the way of your success.  Often, our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weakness.  When a strength helps, it is good for you and good for others being well informed, more productive, others orientated.  When it hinders, it negatively impacts others and you as a result by being uninformed, inexperienced, unproductive, and self-orientated.  Its where our talents are not contributing and may trip us and others up. 

When we are under pressure, or stressed, our strengths amplify as they are tools to help us manage.  A sign of this is if a strength is “hindering.”  For example, COMMUNICATION will talk more, ACHIEVER will work harder, RELATOR will narrow the number of people it confides in.

Part of this journey from talent to strength, is to increase

  • Self-Awareness What effect does this theme have?  What does not come naturally for me that others might need from me?

  • Self-Expression (Asking for what you need) What message might others receive and what message do I want to communicate?  Do you need to help anyone understand this about you?  Do you need to ask for help?

  • Self-Regulation Which of your CliftonStrengths themes or natural talents could you ‘dial up’ to help you regulate this?

  • Complimentary Partnerships Who might you seek out to help you when required?

  • Support Systems Are there any tools or resources that might support you?

Activity The Highs and Lows of Strength.  Increasing awareness of the impact of your strengths

  1. Read the introduction on Page 11 of your Black Workbook

  2. Write your 5 CliftonStrengths themes down the middle of the page

  3. To help complete this exercise refer to your White Workbook on Page 8 and the report My Signature Themes Impact Guide

  4. Once you have completed the table, note down on the page

  • What is one thing you have discovered because of completing this exercise?

  • What is one thing you will do differently as a result?

“Leadership opportunities are presented to everyone.  What makes the difference between being a leader and not is how you respond in the moment.” 

Michelle Goins, Chief Information Officer for Hewlett-Packard’s Imaging and Print Group.

Team Leader Debrief

That’s the end of this week’s online learning.  Do you have a 15 minute debrief booked with your team leader/sponsor?  Aim to answer the questions

  1. What is one discovery you have made?

  2. What is one thing you will do differently?

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