Asking for Feedback

We all know how important it is to get feedback in order to develop ourselves.  Yet some/many of us are afraid to get feedback, afraid of hearing that we might not be performing up to expectations. On the other hand, we realize that self-motivated people are eager for feedback so they can grow; they want to maximize or increase their impact, possibly because they want to make a difference or because they want to advance in their career (which is a fine motivation :-).

How can you psych yourself to ask for feedback? Here are a few hacks:

1. Are you interested in maximizing your impact?  If so, you need to know how people are experiencing you.  The only way to do that is to get feedback, by asking others, “How am I showing up?” 
2. It’s much easier to take in feedback when you invite it; you feel more prepared and even more in control because you initiated it.  The more you ask for feedback the easier it gets!
3. Take advantage of lower-stake situations; it’s easy to say to yourself, “I’d rather hear it from you than from people in a higher-stakes situation.” 
4. I also say to myself, “If someone or some people have an opinion about my performance, and are thinking that “behind my back” as it were, I want to know!” 

So, what would it take for you to ask for feedback? If you’ve tried that, how did it go??
Let me know.