143: How to Get Way Better at Accepting Feedback, with Sheila Heen

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Jun 2, 2014

Sheila Heen, a Harvard Law School lecturer and co-author of bestsellers like *Difficult Conversations*, shares her expertise on receiving feedback. She dives into the emotional challenges we face and introduces a six-step framework to enhance feedback reception. Heen emphasizes understanding our tendencies, sorting feedback types, and engaging actively with critiques. Through her insights, listeners learn to separate the 'who' from the 'what' in feedback, fostering personal growth and strengthening relationships.

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INSIGHT

Feedback Is Two Conflicting Needs

Feedback sits at the junction of two core human needs: growth and acceptance.
That tension explains why feedback both attracts and threatens us.

ADVICE

Map Your Feedback Profile

Know your baseline, swing, and recovery to predict how feedback affects you.
Use that profile to dismantle distortions and to adapt how you give feedback to others.

ADVICE

Separate Who From What

Disentangle the messenger from the message and seek input from people you find difficult.
Ask them a focused question about improving collaboration to get sharper coaching.

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Sheila Heen: Thanks for the Feedback Author with Douglas Stone of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well* Author with Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton of the New York Times Business Bestseller Difficult Conversations* Feedback sits at the core of two human needs: Our need to get better Our need to be accepted, respected, and loved for how we are now “Who’s giving the feedback is often a louder message than what they’re saying.” -Sheila Heen The six steps: 1. Know your tendencies Baseline (or set point): a level of satisfaction that you gravitate towards in the absence of life events Swing: how far positive or negative feedback knocks you off your baseline Recovery: how long it takes you to come back to your baseline Recovery speed can be different for positive and negative feedback Understanding your profile can help you dismantle your distortions Also, this helps you to be more empathetic to others who have different styles than you do 2. Disentangle the “what” from the “who” If the feedback is wise, it shouldn’t matter who delivers it (but it does). Solicit feedback from the people who you find difficult to work with 3. Sort towards coaching Three kinds of feedback Appreciation: sometimes when people ask for more feedback, they really want more of this Coaching: helping you get better at something Evaluation: where you rank or stand Sheila uses this with her children to speak about their grades and what it says about what they can change Separating these three things is helpful, since evaluation is very loud and people don’t often hear anything else 4. Unpack the feedback Most of what we hear comes in vague labels. It requires you as a receiver to be a more active participant. 5. Ask for just one thing “What’s one thing you see me doing (or failing to do) that holds me back?” 6. Engage in small experiments “I don’t believe that receiving feedback well means that you have to take the feedback.” -Sheila Heen It’s hard to know if feedback is helpful until we try it out. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.