Last week I ran a little experiment.
I created an anonymous survey and sent it out to a bunch of friends. It contained only one question: What does Ryan not know about himself that everyone else does?
The reason I asked this question was to get clear feedback. Too often, we aren't direct enough with each other, and understandably so; it's uncomfortable.
But what if we knew about our weaknesses so we could change before it was too late? That's the power of this question. It reveals blindspots.
Admittedly, I was nervous as I distributed these e-surveys. What would people say about me? Could I handle it? How would I distinguish between truth and one person's view?
But I sent it anyway.
Over the next couple days, 13 people responded. And the responses were fascinating. Surprisingly, many were encouraging, building me up in an area where I might not realize a strength. While this is likely a product of good friends rather than any of my own doing, it gave me hope.
To conclude, I would like to share some interesting snippets of the responses (remember, it was anonymous)
Constructive Criticism
- You work so hard and I think taking time for yourself is something that you should take advantage of!
- I think sometimes Ryan isn't as coy as he thinks he is. He's very good at hiding he wants help or guidance.
- His jumper is hella broken (LOL @ this one)
- Keep your driven spirit, but make time for the smaller things and win the small victories
- Ryan is incredibly intelligent which others quickly learn about him from conversations, but sometimes he can seem patronizing to others in intelligence.
- Maybe u try to do too many things yourself and u can ask for help and get a bigger team invested in your projects.
Encouragement
- I think that sometimes Ryan doesn't know how appreciated he is.
- You're gonna be great one day as long as you don't get complacent.
- Ryan is more self-aware than he probably realizes!
Feel free to try out this experiment. The results might just surprise you :)