When Experience Doesn't Matter
"Experience won't make you better, only evaluated experience makes you better." Howard Hendricks
Have you ever been in charge of putting together a report, proposal, or creative piece? Have you given a presentation, introduced a speaker, or otherwise led in a meeting? Have you thrown a dinner party, hosted company, or been in charge of a committee?
If you're wired like I am, whatever you do at work or home, you want to know "how it went." (Whatever your particular "it" might be!) Did people understand my point? Was the information compelling? Were the next steps clear? Did everyone have fun?
These are the questions we ask ourselves. However, we don't always ask anyone else.
There's something in us that seeks and accepts affirmation, but avoids negative feedback. Why is that? The biggest opportunity for growth is to look for the bad news and diligently try to fix it.
How do you find the bad news? You ask questions. Sogosurvey or Survey Monkey are both great tools for getting the low-down quickly and anonymously. However, it's up to you to create a habit of soliciting input and feedback. Ask people, in advance, to watch you and keep of list of "What works & What they'd do different."
Then LISTEN (reallylisten) to the input.
After all, doing the same thing repeatedly isn't the kind of experience you need. Your growth comes from having someone tell you whether your actions are effective.