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The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it. – George Bernard Shaw
I play hockey. Nothing serious, just beer league hockey. For the most part we are of similar levels of ability with the exception of the occasional college or ex-professional player who drops by to get a skate in. I have played hockey since I was four years old and the core of my current team has been together for around twenty years. In our minds eye we all remember how we played at our peak. Everyone knows we have degraded somewhat in twenty years – no one stays young forever, but in general it is like a falling tide. With everyone aging together, the changes are not noticeable. Relative to everyone else we can more or less get the same things done on the ice.
Every so often reality hits. An outside entity steps in to hold a mirror up to ourselves that provides a stiff body check to our egos. Sometime this is in the form of a player who has not been part of our league and provides a benchmark to compare to. Sometime, and this is the ego crushing part, it is in the form of a videotaping performed by a local tavern to entice vulnerable old men to watch their game while sharing a refreshment or two. While we are used to watching professional hockey on television, when we see ourselves on television it is quite hard to believe. ”Check the number of that guy, it can’t be me!” Sad but true. The reality is staring us in the face. Our minds eye, and the reality of the world are truly two different things.
Within your business or department, what perception are you living with? It is all too easy to get overly very comfortable and “know” how everything operates. James Lucas wrote a wonderful book entitled “Fatal Illusions – Shredding a Dozen Unrealities That Can Keep Your Organization From Success” that discusses this subject. Like watching ourselves play hockey, when organizations have audits performed (of any type, in any part of an organization) a common response to the findings is disbelief.
Uncovering these realities is incredibly valuable. Knowing how you operate, how you present yourself, how others see you, how your CUSTOMERS see you is immeasurably valuable. Asking for an organizational assessment will shine light in all the dark corners, and provide you information that you can really use. What is even more valuable is the unsolicited feedback. Information coming from a source with nothing to gain and just telling you how it is. This feedback can be painful, and can be easily misinterpreted as it usually comes in an unvarnished frame with little or no context. Personally, when I receive feedback of this sort, the best case reaction is “tell me more.” Like watching yourself on television, the more common response is disbelief.
Imagine the degree of improvement you could make inside your company if you responded to all feedback with “Tell me more.” It is staggering to think about.
By the way, we don’t watch recordings of ourselves playing hockey any longer. There is only so much a fragile athletic ego can take. …and it is too tough to make upgrades against father time.
