As Ego says in the conclusion of Ratatouille, “They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: 'Anyone can cook.' But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” The same can be said for great learning opportunities. Not all training presentations are great learning opportunities but great learning opportunities can come from anywhere – all you need is an open mind. For me a recent learning opportunity began with constructive feedback – something I have not received much of.
Despite my initial negative response to the feedback, and several subsequent negative responses, my journey through internalizing, validating, and accepting the feedback was quite a learning journey for me. It helped me see myself in a way I could not have previously imagined. During one of my negative responses I relayed my astonishment towards the feedback to some of my co-workers. Could they believe it?! How absurd it was! I mean, I couldn’t possibly be like what they said in the feedback.
Or could I?
As the week sped by my mind bounced open and close wrestling with the feedback. I began to wonder – was there validity to what I was told? “Of course not!” shouted my closed mind. “Are you sure about that?” whispered my open mind. “You were under attack!” “Are you sure about that?” “You were simply making a point!” “Are you sure about that?”
As an L&D professional who advocates for continuous learning, I decided to research how to handle constructive feedback. After all, if “constructive feedback” is the new world order, I wanted to arm myself and be ready to defend. So, I read, and read, and read. The whispered, “Are you sure about that?”, growing louder. Slowly, painfully my mind began to squeak open. Maybe.
One suggestion for handling constructive feedback was to confirm the feedback with trusted sources. So, I did. Know what my trusted sources said? They confirmed the constructive feedback! They didn’t confirm what I was thinking – I was being attacked and wrongly accused. They confirmed the constructive feedback! Whoa!! Wait a minute – WHAT?!
In that moment my mind blew forcefully open, well beyond its earlier points of semi-openness. Like a lightening bolt a great learning opportunity struck me! Where did the lightening bolt come from? Not from a spectacular eLearning, instructor, article, or facilitator. Instead a simple confirmation from my trusted sources - my children! They confirmed what my manager had told me in the constructive feedback.
My great learning opportunity came from constructive feedback and my children. Why? Because my mind opened wide in that instance.
Not all training presentations are great learning opportunities, but a great learning opportuny can come from anywhere. All you need is an open mind.