Who do you go to when you want tough and critical feedback? In the book 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, there is a chapter about seeking input and feedback from the “Claude” or influencer on your team. In the book, John talks about his experience being a church senior pastor. When new ideas were presented to executives, they would ask a farmer and board member named Claude what he thought of the idea. If he agreed, they would approve and if he had changes to the plan, they would discuss what needed to be done.
I believe leaders should apply this way of thinking when they present new ideas or processes. Before rolling it out, discuss with your influencer or “Claude” to see if they agree or not and adjust according to their feedback. In addition to having an influencer, you also want to find someone who will give you the critical feedback that you need. There are certain people on my team I look to for feedback whether it be communication or process.
Anytime we skip the steps of communicating with the influencer or the critical voice, we may stumble and spend more time trying to correct the mistakes. The next time you have a large decision or need input I highly recommend reaching out to key members of your team. As always, I would love to hear your feedback!
