When I was working as a full-time business news anchor and reporter, I began to notice a trend. The CEOs who had strong public speaking skills and who were better television guests made a habit of soliciting feedback after their performance — from everyone. They turned to their publicists or team members and asked, “How did I do? What could I have done better?” They asked me for feedback. They asked the video camera operator for feedback. They asked everyone.
One day, something odd happened. I was pre-interviewing a business leader who was promoting a book. “I don’t need any help. I do this all the time. I’m great at interviews,” she said confidently. She wasn’t great at all. When it came time for her interview, the author was long-winded, convoluted, confusing and clearly didn’t understand the audience for the show. My producer lost his patience, cut the interview short and yelled in my earphone: “Don’t ever invite this person again!”
I didn’t have a label for what I was witnessing, but psychologists did. It’s a cognitive bias called Dunning-Kruger. Psychologist David Dunning explains it simply: “Incompetent people think they’re amazing.” Dunning says that most people overestimate their own abilities and, frequently, “those with the least ability are often the most likely to overrate their skills.” Simply asking for feedback can help override the Dunning-Kruger effect.
This week, I spent time with a legendary CEO who’s approaching the age of 70. I’ll write about our conversation in upcoming columns. Despite his fame and success, he asks for feedback after every media interview. He believes in constant and never-ending improvement. It’s no wonder that this particular business leader is widely considered a great communicator. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “A lot of CEOs simply overestimate their ability to effectively communicate when they aren’t looking at a script.” The article cited 2014 research that shows a gap between “perceived ability and actual performance.” Those CEOs who tend to say the wrong thing in live interviews — and see their stocks plunge as a result — are often those who don’t have an accurate view of their weaknesses. They don’t know they’re weak, because they don’t ask for frequent and honest feedback.
You might be surprised at who asks for feedback after their media interviews or business presentations. They include some of the most successful business leaders of our time. According to Ken Kocienda, a former Apple engineer who worked side-by-side with Steve Jobs, the mercurial co-founder of Apple expected honest feedback during rehearsals for his famous keynotes. In his book, Creative Selection, Kocienda writes about a strategy he saw Jobs use in every rehearsal:
Steve stopped, stepped out of character, reduced the volume of his voice, and asked executives seated in the front row what they thought of some turn of a phrase or whether they believed the ideas flowed together smoothly. Feedback received, Steve would pause quite deliberately for a second or two, go back into character, and resume his keynote persona.
Great communicators like Steve Jobs solicited feedback, listened to it and incorporated the advice into his presentations. It’s not always easy to hear that you can do something better, but you’ll never improve as a communicator or speaker without feedback.