Bill Gates and the Power of Feedback
Bill Gates observed, “You have to be careful, if you’re good at something, to make sure you don’t think you’re good at other things that you aren’t necessarily so good at.”
How do you confirm your sense of what you’re good at? Feedback, of course.
We all feel great when others – colleagues, bosses, friends, and competitors too – remark on our intelligence, skills, or performance. But as Gates noted, therein lies a trap, for we can overestimate or over-generalize our capabilities.
How do we get honest, balanced feedback about areas where we’re not as good as we think we are? Or where we might need to improve or change?