The Impassioned Workforce

The title of Marshall Goldsmith’s new book “What got you here, won’t get you there”, intrigues me. In it, Marshall describes the tendency for successful executives to hold onto behaviour patterns that may be preventing them from going further in their career. The superstitious delusion that certain behaviours have been necessary for success, when in fact they may have been successful despite themselves. In a recent podcast, Marshall Goldsmith describes some of the key themes in his new book and reflects on his long career as executive coach to some of the worlds most respected CEOs.

One of the central ideas Marshall describes is ‘feeding forward’; asking for help and focusing on ways to improve future behaviour rather than dissecting and analysing lessons from the past. As he suggests, people prefer feeding forward because it cannot be perceived as a personal critique (it describes ways of behaving that have not yet taken place), it focuses on what people can do right rather than what they have already done wrong, and it can come from anyone who knows something about the topic. It can also be much faster as people worry less about defending past actions and listen intently for what they can be doing to improve in the future.

This simple adjustment to how most people review and learn behavioural change is very powerful. For a start, people are unable to change the past. Little can be gained from forcing them to relive their mistakes and pointing out their weaknesses. As already mentioned on this blog, focusing on people’s strengths and finding ways to demonstrate how we are all in this together are elements of creating a high performing and passionately engaged team. If we add the idea of feeding forward, this would fit neatly with the entire philosophy.

When commencing a new project or work engagement, try asking your colleagues and team-mates what areas of performance they would like to work on and how you can help them to develop these skills. What can you do to help them improve and be the best they can be. Then give them each 2-3 ideas for things they could do well and leave them free to use or discard as they see fit. This allows successful and intelligent people to select the ideas of most value that fit their current stage of development. Likewise, be willing to share your own development goals and ask them for ideas on how you could improve. When ideas are offered you must only say thank-you (no judging allowed). You have not improved until your team believes you have!

Rather than being a sign of weakness, being aware of your development needs and enlisting the help of others shows emotional intelligence. By going first, you will help to build an environment where others will openly acknowledge their development needs and seek help before it becomes a problem. Going first is a great way to develop trust.

The leader of the past knew how to tell – the leader of the future will know how to ask”…
Peter Drucker

Marshall describes his book as “a prescription – to get into the habit of asking people for insight, listening, apologising for previous sins, involving everyone around you in getting better, following up and practicing feeding forward.” He also acknowledges the Buddhist basis in many of his ideas “Let go of the past…; I give you ideas. Only use my ideas if they work for you in the context of your own life…”. These are the principles behind feeding forward and asking for help.

For more ideas on how you can successfully improve your own behaviours and those of others around you – check out Marshall’s Library where he generously makes articles, podcasts and other materials available for download free of charge.