By Jane Merrifield | Substack
(Jane is my more competent daughter and a sales executive with Cisco. Because she writes on different aspects of mastering leadership skills, her blogs fit with this sites’ theme of the underlying meta-skill: mastering the process of mastery. We all have to continuously – learn, unlearn, and relearn – to stay gainfully employed and serving the greater good.
With AI, you can google/gemini “what are guidelines for X skill” and get more than you need. So, next-gen, how-to blogs need to blend contextual examples combined with AI prompts for generic advice. Note how Jane has both personalized her advice and included an AI prompt.
Onward to greater mastery in all of the soft skills that matter! Bruce )
Why Direct Feedback is an Act of Kindness
A lot of people naturally shy away from giving direct feedback. If you find yourself hesitating to speak up, don’t beat yourself up. It actually contradicts deep-seated evolutionary human tendencies. We naturally crave community and want to get along well with those around us. In ancient times, humans didn’t survive by constantly calling out reasons why the people in their tribe needed to improve.
While there is an immense amount to explore on the broader topic of giving and receiving feedback, I wanted to focus this post on a couple of specific nuggets regarding feedback that I find myself thinking about and returning to often.
Do I Have Food in My Teeth?
We’ve all heard the corporate cliché that “feedback is a gift,” but let’s make it concrete. Think of giving feedback exactly like telling someone they have food stuck in their teeth. If you notice someone has food in their teeth, you should tell them right away!
I know I personally have experienced that sudden, mortifying realization of discovering something in my teeth hours after being at a party. You’re immediately left wondering how many other people noticed and simply chose to say nothing.