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Yvonne Thevenot: Foundations of Leadership

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Yvonne Thevenot MBA(FS) Class of 1999

“Say what you mean
Mean what you say.
And do what you say you’re going to do.”
Barbara Coloroso

One of the most sincere and principled leaders I had the privilege of working with used the above quote as part of his personal brand. It rattles through my head from time to time along with the ghosts of leaders past and reminds me in a back-to-the-basics way, how simple some foundations of leadership trust can be.

Delivery of feedback is a tricky thing in building trust. The selection of words, the tone, the receiver’s state of mind. And yet, when delivered genuinely, with heartfelt intent and space to be safe, there can be so much room for imprecision, and intent truly can and does shine through. I remind myself, leaders are humans too!

So, my note this morning is to my leaders, both today and those ghosts of leaders past.

Thank you for these little whispers of wisdom that pop into my mind and heart when I need them most.
Thank you for trusting me enough to share your feedback – even if the delivery was not as finessed as you’d have liked.
And thank you for being open to my response, as human and unpredictable as it might have been.

Keep up the great work, and keep being you!

Yvonne Thevenot

Yvonne Thevenot: Leaders – Feedback Might Last a Lifetime

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Yvonne Thevenot MBA(FS) Class of 1999

You laugh too loud. You smile too much. You need to wear makeup.

This is real feedback I received at different times in my career. Each was genuine, framed in behavioural change, and carried business rationale. As a career oriented young adult, I adapted.

You laugh too loud – it was “startling” and impacted customers. I was offered professional help. I conceded that now being aware, I would keep it in check – thank you for telling me.

You smile too much – apparently my smile made me appear flighty and insincere. This woman-to-woman feedback was offered …anonymously… via 360 feedback exercise. As I debriefed the feedback I learned the source and thus how I knew it was another woman – thank you for telling me.

You need to wear makeup. This led to a corporate paid professional coach who also guided me to “act like a woman, think like a man, work like a dog”. I was truly appreciative of the investment and feedback especially if this was going to hold me back from a corporate career – thank you for telling me.

Maybe, the world is starting to change? For reflection: leaders – feedback might last a lifetime; young people – feedback, regardless how hurtful and inappropriate it might be, can still have grains of value.

Yvonne Thevenot

Change Management | Mentoring | Strategy Development & Implementation

#saturdaymorningmusings #feedback #leadershiplesson