Most of us enter feedback with a goal to give someone advice, information, or an assessment of a behavior. One person in a position of power – I know/have something you do not. Even if it is just an opinion or an idea about their blind spot – not many people liked to be surprised. This makes the relationship off balance at the start and people get defensive. They are already one down.
When we are feeling picked on, called out, or surprised, response patterns get triggered in our body. We then revert to our habits of thought, mood, and action. When we react, our brain goes on autopilot. Effectively cutting off access to our pre-frontal cortex – the place where we make logical decisions and take thoughtful action. We close our mind. This is a terrible place to begin a learning process.
Find out how to start and finish with more “money in the emotional bank account” (Daniel Goleman) than when you began.
