Grand Final Feedback

As we head into the AFL Grand Final this weekend, I’ve been watching with interest what’s been happening at North Melbourne Football Club and the departure of coach Alastair Clarkson.

Clarkson has spoken publicly about feeling “blindsided” by the decision and said, “In four years I’ve never had one formal performance review.”

I also read that some of his supporters believed his aura and famously turbulent nature may have led colleagues and bosses to “walk on eggshells” around him, and to be too hesitant to offer the strong feedback he needed.

Of course, we don’t know exactly what happened behind closed doors. Did Clarkson receive too little feedback? Were people reluctant to offer him the feedback he needed? Or was it a bit of both? We may never know.

But it raises an important question for every leader. As you become more senior, successful or powerful, do the people around you become less willing to tell you what you need to hear?

Leaders can’t simply wait for feedback. We need to actively create the psychological safety for people to offer it, ask for it regularly, and then listen without becoming defensive or taking it personally.

That’s Feedback Fitness. Confident conversations drive performance, and feedback shouldn’t come as a shock when a major decision has already been made.

So, when was the last time you asked someone, “What could I be doing differently?” And, perhaps more importantly, would the people around you feel safe enough to tell you?

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