“No one ever told me that before.” I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard some variant of that grammatically challenged statement. It is generally uttered by someone that is a member of the “Never Receive Feedback” club right after receiving something that is eye-opening and genuinely appreciated. I’m no longer shocked to learn that yet another otherwise good individual is a charter member of this club. Shocked, no, but disappointed always. My advice: become great at the art of delivering effective constructive and positive feedback and you improve your own effectiveness, enhance your stature as a leader and improve your own career opportunities! All that and no evil side effects. Dare I call it a Viagra-like tool for leaders?

It’s good to be a good leader, so don’t misconstrue the message in this post. The world needs more individuals that care enough to consistently execute the blocking and tackling required to pass for effective leadership. My issue here is that good isn’t good enough, when the potential to be great at this activity that we call leading is within reach. Often, the distance of the reach to “great” is slightly beyond the cultural norms and leadership habits of the firm.