Three ideas. Take what's relevant.
1. Feedback
Here are my tips for responding to constructive feedback:
Pause. Say "Thanks, let me think about that for a moment". Defending yourself in the first ten seconds is how a useful comment becomes a trigger.
Separate the person from the pattern. Feedback is about something you did, not something you are.
Ask for an example. "Can you tell me when you noticed it?" turns a vague sting into something you can act on.
Action a change. Tell them what it is and that you're planning on doing it.
If you’re a team member, this is how you learn and progress. If you are a manager, actively encourage your team to feel safe to provide YOU with constructive feedback. If you’re a founder, this is the framework you want your team adopting to eliminate defensiveness or resentment.
✅ FREE DOWNLOAD - I’ve seen the huge impact this skill can have for people so I created a more detailed free playbook exclusive to subscribers. Access it below and implement the ideas today.
A free 8-page practical system written for individual contributors, founders and the managers building teams in fast-moving startups as a guide for effective communication around feedback.
2. Time To Value
Can you tell when your customer first got the result they bought for?
The gap between a go-live date and value realisation is an underused metric for many onboarding teams.
As part of your onboarding process, pose this to your champion: “let’s identify the moment you’d tell your boss this solution is working and make sure we keep that in our sights”.
If they are uncertain, be the expert in the room and help guide them to an answer they feel clear on.
Add that moment into the plan and track the days to reach it. When a customer slips past their own target, that’s your early warning.
3. Creativity
I’m convinced that startup job ads should include “figure-out-ability” in their must have traits.
In those environments, nobody expects you to know how to do everything YET. Many people in startups haven’t done the specific role before, which is why the job is to work it out as you go.
I was once the person in that seat with no set playbooks (and honestly, it’s where I thrived).
I always encourage teams to say, “I haven’t figured it out yet, but here’s how we’ll try to find out”. Proactive team members who are happy to admit they don’t know and will propose ideas and solutions to get to the answer are the best to work alongside.
And founders and leaders who encourage autonomy are the best to work for!
If you need more detailed mentoring, read about my coaching style, hear direct from my clients, and book in a discovery call to see if we’re a good match.
