このレッスンでは、特にネガティブなフィードバックを受け取った際に丁寧且つ自然に対応することにフォーカスします。学ぶべき事を謙虚に受け止め、且つ気概をもってポジティブに取り組める能力はあらゆる分野において成功への大きなカギとなります。
Nobody comes into a consulting firm perfect. If you were, you’d be promoted to partner on your first day! We all have things to learn. The ability to be coachable and show grit is a major key to success in any field.
- Grit [noun]—courage and resolve, the ability to keep working on something despite setbacks.
- The collocations are: to have grit, to show grit, or to be gritty [adj.]
If you have a chance, you can ask ask, "have you heard of the McKinsey kiss of death?"
- The McKinsey kiss of death, in short, means the person is deemed "uncoachable." It might come from the fact that a lot of top-tier consultants have a background of incredible success. They are the top student in high school, they won plenty of awards, they found university fairly simple and performed highly, then they enter a firm of hundreds of people who have done exactly that, and they are no longer a top performer. It can be very challenging, but when a new hire isn’t coachable, that person’s career is capped. They will eventually hit a ceiling on their skill growth, that’s when they get passed over for a promotion and may be asked to quit.
Further reading: McKinsey kiss of death
Examine each of these pieces of feedback. What are some possible ways you would respond?
- Hey, I think you missed a bit on this spreadsheet. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the data on the client overhead costs should include 2007, shouldn't it?
- Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk about your analysis of the overhead costs. Did you think about the hypothesis and start with the biggest cost pool first? You need to start with the biggest wins.
Ask who might be saying these and why.
- Hey, I think you missed a bit on this spreadsheet. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the data on the client overhead should include 2007, no?
(Here, the analyst is working from an incomplete dataset.)- Probably a colleague, perhaps junior or a polite senior team member. You probably overlooked some data, maybe it came in a separate email or something like that.
- How would you respond?—Hopefully thank the person and look into it. Don't push back.
- Probably a colleague, perhaps junior or a polite senior team member. You probably overlooked some data, maybe it came in a separate email or something like that.
- Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk about your analysis of the overhead costs. Did you think about the hypothesis and start with the biggest cost pool first? You need to start with the biggest wins.
(Here, the analyst is "boiling the ocean"—working too much on things that don't deliver much value. While the dedication is commendable, they need to prioritize their tasks more.)- Almost certainly from a team leader or manager.
How might you respond?
Do you understand what they are asking?
A. When receiving feedback, the first step is always to thank the person giving it or to show understanding. Examine the following phrases and discuss the level of formality. Who would you say them to?
- That's fair.
- I hear you.
- I'm so glad you noticed!
- Thank you for noticing that.
- Oh I see what you mean.
- Oh my god, you're totally right!
Now practice responding to your teacher's feedback.
B. Depending on the feedback, you can also create a plan of attack so that you will succeed the next time you get the chance.
C. If you don't fully understand the issue and you need more detail, an appropriate response would be:
- Would you mind clarifying what you mean?
- Could you tell me more? I'd really appreciate a specific instance of that.
- I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow you. Would you mind taking me through that?
D. If you understand the issue, but not the solution, you can say:
- I see... What should I have done instead?
- Ok, that makes sense. Could you tell me what approach you would have taken?
- Ok, would you be able to tell me what I need to do differently?
A. When receiving feedback, the first step is always to thank the person giving it or acknowledge it positively. Note that this may seem easy in theory, but it can be tough to do in practice.
- That's fair.—Neutral, used for some major feedback.
- I hear you.—Informal, spoken
- I'm so glad you noticed.—Appropriate for anyone.
- Thank you for noticing that.—Quite polite.
- Oh, I see what you mean.—Neutral, appropriate for anyone.
-
Oh my god, you're totally right! — Direct, pretty casual.
You can also use very casual phrases like these, with peers and friends:
- My bad.
- Ah, shoot. I did mess that up.
- Oh yeah, cheers/thanks.
Now practice responding to your teacher's feedback.
Talk to your student by name, and point out mistakes they have made. Be nice and use the language in the last lesson. Here are some things you can say:
- Sorry, but I think you've overlooked a data point here.
- Correct me if I'm wrong, but the client just sent us new figures on their overhead costs. These look like the old figures.
- Honestly, this analysis doesn't pass the smell test. If this was true, then fixed costs would account for over 200% of expenditures.
B. Plan of attack You can say things like:
- I'll... right away.
- Next time I'll... or
- Ok, from now on I'll be sure to... or
- I'll absolutely do my best....
C. You don't understand the issue. This is when the feedback doesn't make sense to you. An appropriate response would be:
Mention: tone of voice is really important here. Sound nice! Don't sound angry.
- Would you mind clarifying what you mean?—The key word is "clarify."
- Could you tell me more? I'd really appreciate a specific instance of that.—This can seem angry if you aren't careful. Remember, you want to fix the problem, not challenge the person bringing it up.
- I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow you. Would you mind taking me through that?—Here, follow you means to understand each step.
Some examples of when this language is important might be vague statements like the following:
- Your output so far honestly seems off-base to me. You have to understand what the client means, not just listen to what they say.
- (After asking) The client said that they need to reduce their overhead costs, but we can see that overhead costs are up industry-wide, so we need to compare apples to apples, right? We need to benchmark those costs appropriately and explain it.
- From what I've seen, I think you need to have a bigger presence in the client meetings.
- (After asking) Remember the client is paying for you to be there, so you need to speak up a bit more. Even just say out loud that you agree with things. It helps the atmosphere.
D. You understand the issue, but don't know how to remedy it. This is the most serious for a consultant, but you should still be honest. Be coachable!
These might come after B.'s phrases.
- I see... and instead of doing that, what should I have done instead?
- Ok, that makes sense. Could you tell me what approach you would have taken?
- Ok, would you be able to tell me what I need to do differently?
Examine these cases and think about how you would respond:
- Situation: You've stayed up until the middle of the night preparing a PowerPoint deck for tomorrow's presentation.
Feedback: "Please be careful about typos. The CEO's name has an E at the end."
- Situation: You made a work plan including the dates of interviews and the roles of each person, but didn't take into consideration the holidays of the US members.
Feedback: "Did you see an email that the American colleague sent?"
- Situation: You have been working on price optimization for a new luxury skin cream. Your team is working on penetrating the market with a fairly high price based on survey data.
Feedback: "You can't just rely on the survey feedback and benchmarking. Those numbers don't tell the whole story."