Anyone who has sincerely tried to improve in some area of personal or professional life probably understands the value of feedback. But what this lawyer did to get feedback is rare and perhaps surprising. From Sherwood Park News:
How do you get better? How do you become world-class? There are only two ways, with no shortcuts: deliberate practice (which we will look into next week) and reflective practice, explains law professor Gerald Williams.
Professor Williams recounts a story. He and his team were researching world-class negotiators. Most attorneys fell into the run-of-the-mill “good enough” category. The researchers were blown away, however, in watching the seemingly effortless skill of one lawyer who repeatedly and summarily crushed his opponents and helped his clients achieve their goals.
Eager to learn the secrets of his success, Professor Williams’ team debriefed the negotiator. The lawyer was truly non-plussed; he didn’t know how he had become so good at what he did. Williams pressed. Surely he was being coached?
“No, not unless you mean this?” was the reply, as the lawyer humbly reached behind to his credenza to pull out a binder.
Williams’ jaw dropped, it was something he had never seen. At the conclusion of every negotiation the attorney had ever done, he had asked the other side for feedback on his performance (this is rarely done in legal circles), had analyzed it, and then acted on it to improve.
What do you think? Know anyone who seeks feedback so bravely? Perhaps he would not consider himself brave but many of us would, yes?
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