Not all feedback needs to be negative. when you reach out to your colleagues to collect their constructive criticism, you should also engage with them on your strengths.
Start by picking a wide range of people: family members and friends, past and present colleagues, teachers, mentors, and so on. Ask them to describe your strengths and to share specific stories about when they've witnessed those traits. Then organize all the material you collected and search for common themes. Group examples by thems and then take a stab at explaining who you are or how you behave when you live up to those ideals.
Once you've compiled these memories and themes, turn the bullet points into prose. Use the feedback and your own observations to write a two-to four-paragraph description of your best self. Try opening with these phrases:
- "When I'm at my best, I ..."
- "I enjoy..."
- "Others rely on me to ..."
- "My best work is ..."
- "I feel most like myself when ..."
- "I thrive when ..."
Now reread what you've written: Where is your current role best aligned with the self-portrait you just created? Where are the biggest sources of friction? What elements of your role do you have the power to alter - the composition of your team, the way you do your work, or spend your time?
Finally, design some small experiments to bring your job into better alignment with what you've learned or put yourself in the best possible position to succeed. Instead of initiating a grand overhaul that requires approval from higher-ups, try best when you're collaborating with others, look for areas of overlap with your peers in other units and start a regular series of meetings about how you could better work together.
Engaging with feedback from your boss and employees will advance your thinking about the kind of leader you want to be. Building around your strengths and mitigating or improving in areas of weakness will allow you to develop into a stronger leader. It also supports your career development process over time, through your career.
