Speaker describes a company practice of structured peer reviews (a version of 360 reviews) used to surface blind spots and promote growth. The process: colleagues who regularly interact provide three specific weaknesses and three strengths for each person; feedback is collated, read aloud in a meeting where the recipient may only respond "thank you"; strengths are then read and discussed. The practice is initially uncomfortable but builds a culture of honest feedback and accelerated personal growth.
Chapters
I think there is something to be said for some sort of peer review because we don't always know our blind spots. Getting that feedback is vital and we do it in our company. We do our version of a 360 review. Basically, you take a group of people who work together. That doesn't necessarily mean they're in the same discipline. It means they have regular contact with each other. And every person has to answer two questions. One, give three specific examples of of where your weaknesses lie or you believe the areas you need the most growth. So three specific examples of where you're weak. And then three specific examples where you believe you were strong, where you believe you have grown the most since the last review. They're collated and shared. And then we come together in meeting. You read all your weaknesses out loud even though they've already read them. And then anyone in the room can add to that list. And you are not allowed to say anything. The only thing you're allowed to say is thank you. And the reason is we give this little preamble, which is we say the people in this room do not want to give you this feedback. It is much easier for them not to give it because it is uncomfortable and they don't want to do it. But they're going to do it because they care about you and they want to help you grow as a human being. So when they give you this feedback, you say thank you. And our rule is, if you feel something, anger, frustration, it's probably true. If you feel nothing and you think they're wrong, great. Say thank you for the feedback, ignore it, and go on about your day. Right. But you only allowed to say thank you. And then once you're done with your weaknesses, you add the strengths. You read yours, they can add to the list. And the amazing thing is you will learn that you have strengths that you didn't even realize that people appreciate you more than you even thought. It's an incredibly powerful tool. It's only the most uncomfortable the first time you do it. And then it starts to get easier and you really start to build a culture of honest feedback, which is always good for growth.
