I watched a nine year old fly down the slopes on a snowboard last week after just one lesson and only a couple of days hanging with the big kids. He made it look easy. Cool as can be.
Children are like sponges, I hear people say, teach them while they're young.
Of course learning doesn't stop just because we get older, but those early years are loaded with all kinds of education, both in and outside the classroom. There is something to be said about being in a student's state of mind, presumably open not just to learning, but to being taught.
I've taken a few classes in recent years, including drawing and writing, as well as the courses I took for coaching.
Learning is the fun part, it's the feedback that hurts. Showing someone your work, or trying to work as someone observes your process. Oh the horror.
To be clear, I value and appreciate feedback. I just prefer the feedback be on my own terms and that it comes when I am expecting it, so that I'm prepared. The teacher strolling about the room, moving from desk to desk before eventually standing over my shoulder as I tried to sketch a table that was absolutely covered in every imaginable kind of fruit was humbling, to say the least.
So now I'm thinking about getting feedback in different settings and perhaps with more at stake, like the boardroom, the family room or the local dog park.
How do you respond to receiving feedback?
What happens when someone offers you unsolicited advice or counsel?
How open are you to input from people with different or less experience than you?
Do you feel differently about feedback in a professional setting than in a personal setting? What makes it different?
As your coach, my role is not about offering advice or counsel, although I will provide occasional feedback if you ask me. My real focus is on listening, acting as a sounding board for your thoughts and ideas, asking you to break them down in a way that I can understand them. As it happens, it helps you understand them too.
And, spoiler alert, at the end of each session, I seek your feedback, measuring my success as a coach on your personal progress toward your stated goals and outcomes. It's that easy, I promise. Cool as can be.