Offering Feedback the SL Way

 “I owe it to you as a Partner to tell you……”

How do you handle it as a servant-leader when you need to give someone with whom you work corrective feedback? Further, how do you handle it when that someone with whom you work is your boss? Servant-leaders have the courage to respectfully keep self and others accountable, regardless of position and rank. The guiding message is to be able to do this in a respectful way that honors both parties in the conversation. In a recent Servant Leadership skill building session at TDIndustries, Ben Simmons, Executive Vice President Multifamily shared a great story of how JimBo Bunnell, who at the time reported to Ben, found the courage to consistently offer constructive feedback, information which a supervisor typically might not hear from a direct report. Of note is that his story is about how one of his direct reports was able to graciously give him (the boss) valuable feedback in a way that proved effective and beneficial for not only the two of them, but for the entire corporate culture. When scenarios such as the one below occur throughout an organization, each instance and each person involved serves to support a servant led environment, an example of how the sum becomes greater than the parts. Here’s the story:

“Rather than JimBo (the direct report) talking to someone else at the water cooler about my performance, JimBo took the leadership role and came straight to me where there was opportunity for positive and immediate change. This happened more than once. He would come to me and ask for a private conversation. Then he would say, “Ben, I owe it to you as your TD Partner to tell you XXXX.” By using this introductory phrase it reminded me that he was honoring me with feedback I might not otherwise hear and it was feedback from which I would benefit and grow as a leader myself. It was always apparent that his concern and approach was genuine (a must). It was not always comfortable to hear his feedback, but I always appreciated having the benefit of his counsel. There are too many non-useful and negative surrogate conversations that can take place in a company. JimBo modeled the way to replace those.