In the book The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni discusses how leadership teams can come together to foster a strong organizational culture. And while this book is over 12 years old, it’s still extremely relevant, especially in today’s remote-first workplace.
One of the key tenets of the book is creating meaningful organizational values that everyone upholds even in times of uncertainty and change. This can be difficult, particularly when those values require us to do things that might make us feel vulnerable. I decided to lean into this discomfort this week when I shared my own year-end rating and feedback from my manager with my direct reports.
I’ll say I’ve had far better reviews in previous years, and it’s been quite a challenging year in my current company. But the reality is, we all have things we could be doing better in our roles. So rather than avoid this discomfort, I decided I would ask a favor of my direct reports — to hold me accountable for doing the things I need to be doing better this coming year. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Here’s why this was one of the best decisions I’ve made as a manager in a while.
- Sharing your own shortcomings with your direct reports shows vulnerability. We’ve all watched Brené Brown’s TED talk “The Power of Vulnerability” but it takes courage to follow through on her advice. It doesn’t make you look weak to share your shortcomings and in fact, showing your team you’re human can be a superpower.
- It keeps you accountable towards your own goals.
It’s one thing to have a manager keeping tabs on where you want to improve but another to have the partnership that comes with your direct reports being read into your goals. Knowing that I have folks on all sides looking for opportunities to help me improve is a really good thing. And at the same time, it affords them the opportunity to see what it means to be in my position, warts and all, which only helps their own career growth. - It shows that we’re all measured in similar ways.
I’ve worked in companies where there was an assumption that leadership was held to a different standard (perhaps, a lesser one) when it came to year-end. Sharing my feedback shows this is not the case and for those who may feel like they were unfairly singled out or held to a higher standard, it can support the idea that a company’s YE evaluation criteria is equal across the board, regardless of level. - Finally, for my organization, it supports one of our core values, openness.
This is where The Advantage approach comes in. In the book, Lencioni specifically says “Core values are not a matter of convenience.” Sharing honest feedback about one’s performance as a manager isn’t supposed to be convenient. For us — and, for me, personally — it’s about leaning into openness. And embracing the vulnerability that doing so affords.
Do I wish I had a better year-end? Yes. But the ability to connect deeply with my direct reports is what personal growth is all about. As Brené Brown noted, “vulnerability is our most accurate measure of courage.” And great leaders are those who take those courageous steps.
Emily Ryan has worked cross-functionally as a designer, full-stack developer and UX researcher to solve a variety of digital issues for public and private sector spaces, focusing on civic tech. She’s worked across start-ups, federal government and consulting agencies. She holds a BFA in Design, an M.A. in Criminal Law and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Government, focusing on technology’s influences and impacts on global democratic movements and free and open elections. In her free time she runs ultramarathons and travels, preferring locations with traditional European holiday markets, walking food tours and modern art exhibits.
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