Think of the best feedback you’ve ever received. Why was it so meaningful to you?

I’m willing to bet that the reason you remember it is because the feedback inspired you to change your behavior, which resulted in your life getting better.

She was right. If Albert were to get a rude shock next month, he’d have three possible explanations for what happened, none of which are good.

1. The review isn’t fair. If things really were so dire, why hasn’t this come up until now? This must be a mistake.

2. The review is fair, but my manager was negligent and didn’t realize I was underperforming until the end of the half.

3. The review is fair, but my manager wasn’t honest in sharing feedback with me along the way, so I didn’t have a chance to improve.

I was at risk of falling into bucket three. Luckily, I still had time to put the lesson into action. The sooner that Albert internalized he was not meeting expectations, the quicker he could potentially turn things around, and the smoother our future performance conversations would go.

Pressler felt many pressures, both from within the company and externally, to make changes fast, to be decisive, and to set bold visions. But he recognized that these were seductive traps. He did not allow himself to be portrayed as a savior, he most certainly did not attempt to be a know-it-all, and he made sure to keep open to the torrent of data and information that flows into any leader when they start a new role. He remains steadfast to his agenda of listening and learning, working with his management team, spending time on the sales floor and in the stockrooms at various company stores, and describing the discoveries, thoughts, and ideas to the management team and the company’s employees at large.

Eckert adds, “As the new guy, I realized that every first encounter with a Mattel employee had the potential to be fraught with tension, and I felt it was my responsibility to do everything possible to reduce it. Surprisingly, I found that in each situation, recognizing my own lack of knowledge about the company’s people and culture - in effect, allowing the employees to be the ‘boss’ in certain situations - actually helped me lead.

I also didn’t appreciate that if you ask ten questions and make ten suggestions, people may take them less seriously, even if they’re all equally good. If you have only two issues or questions, people will take your two more seriously than they may take any of your ten. During my first hundred days in the Harvard presidency, I could have had things I identified as success and could have signaled that it was a new day without dissipating as much goodwill capital, if I had been smarter.” - Lawrence Summers.