Why Feedback Fuels Growth (and Leadership)

Shortly after accepting a spot on the behavior-based safety process steering committee, I had the chance to sit in on and help with a small portion of the training for new observers; the same course I had squirmed through less than a year prior. I can’t pretend that I actually offered anything of value in the training, other than a bit of perspective from a peer, but that provided me with an opportunity to really study how different people explained the content involved rather than just attempting to focus on what they were saying. While Terry and Dennis had very different styles (I sure wish I understood The Model of Human Behavior back then), I learned from both. On the few occasions where I actually spoke up and shared something based on my limited experience, Terry always made a point of pulling me aside afterward to provide feedback on what I did well and ways I could improve. At that point, I accepted his input as “constructive criticism”. After hearing Jeff Henderson explain the idea of “alliance feedback” a few years ago, I now know that Terry was in no way criticizing me; he was very intentional about doing whatever he could to help me improve. We’ll take a deeper look at that soon enough…

While I accepted the input he was providing, I have to admit that it usually stung. Aside from an occasional beer-induced soapbox rant in front of friends, I had never done anything remotely resembling public speaking and to even say a few words from where I was sitting in a room full of much more tenured coworkers was already way outside my comfort zone. Outside of that feedback, there were a handful of times where I ran into minor issues while doing observation and needed guidance from Dennis and Terry on what I could do to navigate them appropriately. Those were likely more of a bother to them at the time, but seemed like mountains for me to climb. Each interaction with them, though, helped build a deeper relationship and showed me that I could trust the input they were willing to share. Had it not been for that, I may never have approached them for feedback after my unsuccessful interview - and I may not have been offered the other position a few months later.

I didn’t have a reporting relationship with either of them, but they both quickly proved to be colleagues I could trust for input and guidance in my immediate role, for how I could be more effective in that behavior-based safety initiative, and in most anything else I was willing to bring up with them. Soon after Dennis provided me with feedback on how I could present myself better in an interview, he moved the other facility in Missouri where he was offered a plant manager role. The gentleman selected to replace him (instead of me) took over but had very little experience in the actual process. Likely based on suggestions from Terry and Dennis (I truly don’t remember), I opted to do whatever I could to help him be successful in the role rather than bitterly stepping aside. When I was offered a training position in a new Lean Manufacturing initiative just a few months later, I had far more flexibility to help with the observer training. That presented me with even more access to Terry’s alliance feedback, and it provided me with perspective that would be critical in my new role and every role I’ve had since - I just didn’t understand how much I needed it right away.

As excited as I was to be in a position off the manufacturing floor, one that I viewed as the next rung up my career ladder, I didn’t quite comprehend the challenges I’d soon face. As I mentioned, I had just turned twenty-four years old, I was nearly married, and I was still one of the youngest people in the facility. Going through the interview process, I perceived this new initiative as something that would be warmly welcomed. The logic behind it was solid so why would anyone push back? Logic be damned, few people ever willingly accept change. And those who do are generally the ones initiating the change. Upsetting the embedded status-quo, having less time on the planet than most of my peers had in their current roles, and the ZERO positional authority I mentioned before presented some significant challenges to work through in my first few months in that position. One of the concepts Terry covered in his segment of the behavior-based safety observer training was crucial in helping me get through it, and we’ll pick up there next…