MY THOUGHTS ON CO-OPERATION AND FEEDBACK

My thoughts on Co-operation

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry S Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. The final running mate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Truman succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when Roosevelt died after months of declining health.

When Truman took over the presidency it was a very difficult time. Germany had surrendered and the war with Japan was assumed to continue. Truman asked Roosevelt’s cabinet to stick with him and support him and they did. Truman had to make one of the biggest decisions of his term by dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. It was not really understood how terrible the casualties would be, but in order to preserve dangers put upon the USA he made the decision.

When great leaders make big decisions it is important to recognize that they do not make these decisions without counseling their team or trusted advisors. A great leader for obvious reasons takes full accountability and responsibility for decisions, but they typically do not take all the credit when the outcome is overwhelmingly successful. As Truman stated, great leaders want to make it happen. They rarely care about taking the credit.

How does a great leader get to the point where they are not selfish but self-less?

How does a great leader get to the point where they are willing to delegate success?

How does a great leader get a team to cooperate for the greater good?

These are very typical questions that great leaders ask themselves when they want to create success.

How well do you cooperate with others? Are you willing to delegate success to others without regret?

My invitation to you is to identify your goals and ask yourself are they selfish or self-less. All great leaders are willing to deny themselves the crown for the good of the team. I learned long ago that you should always council with your councilors, those that you that trust and rely on.

I believe that you have to work very hard to cooperate with others. Cooperating with others means that we need to let down our guard and be willing to share our ideas and be prepared to receive comments that can be viewed as criticism. Do you have what it takes to accept criticism for the success of the project?

A great leader can only learn cooperation when they are willing to cooperate with others.

My thoughts on Feedback

“Nearly all men stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral crisis—the American Civil War—preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, strengthening the national government and modernizing the economy. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was self-educated, and became a country lawyer.

I think Lincoln was called honest Abe for a reason. He always held true to his beliefs and stuck to them like glue. Lincoln really had a tough life. He lost children when they were young; he lost his first wife to fever and many other hard ships. He always seemed to persevere. He taught himself law, and got the emancipation proclamation passed. Lincoln empowered many. He was liked by many and obviously disliked by those with slaves.

This is really an interesting quote. I had a hard time finding a quote to fit this topic. I chose this quote from Lincoln because feedback is meant to help someone improve or to empower them to do better. “I am amazed at what society teaches, that feedback is meant to be critical and negative. We would rather down trodden a person than lift them up.” A great leader can see the good in people. A great leader can re-kindle the fire within someone and help them to be better. When I think of ways that I have been taught to give feedback they have always been kind and respectful.

Here are some tips to use when giving feedback. These tips will help empower those you influence.

– Use a moderate tone of voice
– Be genuine and concerned
– Show an interest in what they are doing
– Give positive feedback to the things they are doing right
– Be direct and straight forward in correcting the individual
– Do not rely on not factual stories, simply state the facts

If you remember my statement before that you are always training your replacement, you may find the individuals that you spend the most time giving positive feedback are the ones you are training as your replacement