Awareness and feedback: Jeff Weiner

(upbeat hip hop music) - Let's talk about what awareness means in leadership. We talked about this framework that makes a great leader. I would like to talk about some things that you've seen that weren't so great. - Way more-- - You see it everyday? - Way more than I can count. This is one thing that the more senior you become, the more people will weight your words. And so the more aware you need to be. So by way of example, you're sitting in a meeting and you are a member of the team and someone asks you what you think and you respond "Oh I prefer this color over that color" in terms of a design. And your colleague may say "Okay, that's nice to know." - Right. - Or "I disagree". "Maybe we'll do something with that information." And lo and behold, a couple of weeks later, it turns out the project is delayed because the team interpreted that piece of feedback as a mandate. - (laughs) Wow. - And so, now they have to undo all of the color codes and the palettes and that is what happens when executives, when leaders, when managers are not fully aware and conscious of the impact they're having on other people. So, a simple little framework that I've used with some success is, I love rules of three, so in this particular case, it's one person's opinion. I'm one person, you're another person-- - And your (mumbles) case is entirely different from somebody else-- - I've got an opinion, you've got an opinion. - Right. - Take it for what it's worth. - Right. - Next is a strong suggestion. - (laughs) Great. - A strong suggestion is more than one person's opinion. It comes from a place of experience. You say, "Hey, I hear ya, I see the direction you're going, "but, if I were you guys, I would strongly consider "potentially doing it differently, "but I want to be clear, the decision is yours." - Got it. - And then the third tier is the mandate. "I think that you're going down a path that's going to "lead to a bad outcome, "and that could hurt you and/or the team, "or the company, "and so, I would prefer if you'd do it this way." - Wow. - If I could count mandates on one hand, I'd be surprised. It's, I wouldn't be able to use all the fingers. It's very, very rare, but in the absence of categorizing the kind of feedback you're providing, one person's opinion may be perceived as a mandate. - Got it. - And that's why it's important to distinguish between the three. - Yep. (upbeat hip hop music)