See yourself differently

One of the truths we’ve come to understand at Progressfull, is that we can all benefit from choosing to see things a little differently

As humans, one of the biggest mistakes we make is forgetting everyone doesn’t think like we do. We assume what we are thinking is what everyone else is thinking

Not true

Look around and you will see this clearly is not the case in reality

The truth is people are different. We think differently, want different things, and fortunately have different ideas. The way we process and share our ideas is often different from one another. This can be frustrating if we allow it to be, but with intentionality it can also be the secret sauce which unlocks our potential. Increasing our insight unlocks our potential

We limit ourselves when we limit our perspective to our own ideas and current capabilities

So, if we recognise the need for different perspectives, how do we actually gain them?

Welcoming feedback helps us broaden our perspective and broadening our perspective increases our insight

I’ll be honest, when Jo, my co-founder and learning architect at Progressfull, told me Welcoming Feedback was one of the 5 Progressfull™ Principles and key to unlocking my potential, I wasn’t exactly thrilled

Frankly, whilst I have known that ‘feedback is essential to growth’ – in the past I have often found feedback difficult to handle, dismissing the positives in the blink of an eye, whilst listening intently, scribbling notes, and using every ‘negative’ word as a stick to beat myself with. What I didn’t realise was everything I was missing out on

When we fail to remember this principle, that we, as people are all different, and that welcoming feedback from different people is essential to gaining different perspectives, we fail to live up to our potential

So, why are so many of us failing to welcome feedback?

It's because words are like bees, some create honey, and the others leave a sting

The crucial thing I learned from Jo, and which we share in our Welcoming Feedback Upskill, (our name for a course) is that Welcoming feedback is not about accepting all feedback as gospel, we need to test it – are the words intended to create honey or leave a sting?

Accepting all feedback as gospel is one of the things to stop doing!

Being open and welcoming different perspectives does not mean accepting them. You can welcome someone at the door, you can spend some pleasant conversation with them over a drink or meal, both are completely different from inviting them to come and live with you - that’s accepting all feedback as gospel

Feedback is simply a snapshot in time of someone’s opinion about you, or something you have said or done – nothing more -  it’s one piece of evidence. The person providing the feedback is not judge and jury, they are not the arbiter of good taste, or what is useful and helpful for you – that is for you to decide

A good check is to hold the feedback lightly then test the intentions of the person providing the feedback – are their observations designed to help or encourage, are they designed to support and inform

If the answer to these questions is no, then you don’t have to be ‘stung’ by their words – simply be polite, thank the person for their observations, and move on

We cover this and much more in our Upskill Welcoming Feedback

Think about how you can start to hold the feedback lightly then test the intentions of the person providing the feedback

Intention is the ingredient that makes words create honey or leave a sting, bee-lieve them

Instead of accepting feedback as gospel ask yourself are their observations designed to help or harm, are they designed to support and inform. Bee-lieve the intention behind the words. Remember help or harm, honey or sting - intentions are what to bee-lieve

Remember help or harm, honey or sting - intentions are what to bee-lieve

To help you gain a new perspective on your potential we created an Upskill (our name for a course) called Welcoming Feedback,. Welcoming Feedback, includes step-by-step online videos, 121 Mentoring, bespoke Journals, private podcasts and purposeful self-reflection exercises designed to help you unlock your ability to Welcome Feedback, and live a life of progress, a life of new perspectives on your own potential 

We've picked the best insights, frameworks and tools from behavioural psychology, neuroscience and philosophy to create the models and content in Welcoming Feedback, enabling you to embrace, usher in, roll out the red carpet for diverse perspectives and feedback conversations, with confidence and curiosity 

So how about today you start to welcome feedback to find insight that helps you increase your perspective and unlock your potential

You can discover more about Welcoming Feedback here