The Messenger
by John Spence
October 11th, 2006
I think I am going to get my team to design a new t-shirt for me, it will say in big letters on the front “The Messenger” and all around it will be drawings of bullet holes with blood running down.
Yes, they still shoot the messenger! For the past several years I have been deploying a very in-depth and well-researched “Organizational Effectiveness Audit” for many of my clients. Based on my own experience in working with several hundred companies and adapted from the national “Great Places to Work” study, the audit is superb for identifying specifically where organizations are strong… and where they need work.
Most senior executives that get the results are very pleased. Although they might be surprised by a few low scores and often get some “uncomfortable” feedback – they understand clearly that they can’t fix what they don’t know about and see the value in taking a hard, honest look at the current state of their organization.
However, from time-to-time it does not go that way. I’ll hand in the executive report to the CEO only to have them read it, look at me… and shred it! Saying, “no one in this company is ever to see that report.” Or, if we are doing it at a retreat and I hand out the report to the entire executive team all at the same time, they get very angry with me – and I have even had them terminate the engagement on the spot.
Here is the point. Honesty can hurt, but it is the only thing that will help you and your company to be as successful as possible. If you do a survey like this (with me or any other consultant) and you don’t like the answers – don’t get mad at the consultant, don’t get mad at the people who filled out the surveys — look in the mirror and say, “What have I done to contribute to this, and what must I do to get these scores up to where I want them?” If you put the tough things out on the table, discuss them openly, embrace a culture of frank feedback and transparency – you can remove fear and get everyone in your organization working together to fix any problems and move forward as a team.
Article Filed under: I. WATER (Team/Group Excellence)
2 Comments Add your own
1. Brian Higley | December 26th, 2006 at 11:33 am
John,
I can relate to this article! Reaction to constructive criticism typically gives me a gauge, perhaps, of the degree to which someone is (what Jim Collins would call) a “level 5 leader.” I think of it as a potential indicator of what is the more important objective to that leader:
1. constant improvement within the organization OR
2. constant indication that the leader/team is doing well (regardless of reality)
I don’t blame the leader/team COMPLETELY, however – I think we don’t do a good job of training people in general in the art of receiving and utiliizing criticism. I think the problem runs quite deep in most people’s psyches (and thus, in most organizations).
The most expert people in the world (across any field) are typically standing on many “blocks” of mistakes and listened-to criticism about those mistakes. I believe far too few of ALL of us have been taught this critical truth.
Thank you for writing this article, John!
2. Excellence Tree Journal &&hellip | February 20th, 2009 at 11:48 am
[…] include a broad, individualized system of reinforcement?” Sometimes providing this clarity, as John Spence points out, can even get the ‘messenger’ in […]
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