Page 69 - Develop your leadership skills- John Adair. -- 2nd ed

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60 ■ Develop your leadership skills

you a mental list of action points aimed at improving your
skills and knowledge as a leader.

Using informal or unstructured feedback is an especially
important self-development tool. People are rather like mirrors
or ‘social reflectors’: they beam back to us how we are coming
across.

In this respect, however, others are imperfect receptors or
mirrors, for they do not merely observe you: they also interpret
what they see before giving you their feedback – solicited or
unsolicited. So you do have to be cautious in using feedback.
You may have to unpack the observation from the interpreta-
tion. Remember that you are only receiving others’ impres-
sions, not true psychological statements about the inner you.
Always look for a pattern. As the proverb says:

If one person says that you are a horse,
Smile at them.
If two people say that you are a horse,
Give it some thought.
If three people say that you are a horse,
Go out and buy a saddle.

Feedback is a bit like the guidance mechanism in a rocket. If
you receive it with an open mind, looking for the truth in it, it
can guide you on your path to excellence in leadership.

Never be afraid of failure. The path forward will be strewn
with the results of your failures as a leader. For the only way
you can move from being a good leader – where you are now –
to becoming a very good leader, even an excellent or a great