Perhaps you’ve already done a lot of work transitioning from “boss” to “leader”: learning to delegate, empowering your team, and so on. But there’s one key element of true leaders — and that’s the ability to leverage feedback. As Ken Blanchard said, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” If you can achieve the two-fold mastery of (a) accepting feedback and (b) using it to create change, you’ve mastered the ignite model of leadership.

Leadership is Vulnerability

While leadership is often associated with strength and dominance, it’s actually a bit of a self-effacing position. When you’re a leader, you’re not the recipient of your efforts. So, you can’t focus on how you will benefit from your great ideas. And if your good intentions don’t translate into team efforts, you’re not accepting enough feedback.

It’s a bit like your reputation. You can educate yourself, dress well, and so on, but it ultimately comes down to what people say about you. Leadership is about other people; what do they experience with you? That actually puts you in a vulnerable position: you must be open to critique. Only then will you be in a position to ignite change.

An “Open Door Policy” Isn’t Enough

You’ve probably heard that an “open door policy” is an excellent way to invite comments and questions. It makes your team feel heard and encourages them to share any concerns. All that is true.

However, having an open door means little if you don’t use that feedback for growth. Moreover, many people simply won’t approach your door for whatever reason. Perhaps they don’t consider their own feedback important. Perhaps they’re nervous about any pushback. It’s your responsibility as a leader to aggressively invite feedback. Data is crucial to growth, so why wouldn’t you want as much as possible?

How to Deal With Honest Feedback

It’s human nature: we don’t like to be criticized. Even the best leaders must overcome that aversion. That can be a challenge when we invite feedback, because odds are it’s not going to be 100% positive. The key is to develop an ignite mindset that sees that feedback as fodder for growth.

To do this, you must (a) invite feedback, good or bad and (b) turn that feedback into data for growth. Your team will always know if you collect feedback then proceed to ignore it (whether you don’t know what to do with it or feel threatened by it).

This isn’t to say you must implement every suggestion that comes across your desk. Rather, look at feedback as a way to break free of your biases and develop a multifaceted perspective. It’s just a simple fact that we only have one brain to filter our ideas. To truly leverage your team’s brainpower, you must invite their perspectives. Even if their feedback ultimately doesn’t translate into change, it builds a strong framework for continual growth, free from the limitations of bias or presumptions.

Wrapping Up

In short, a good leader is able to invite feedback and take it as an opportunity for reflection and growth. It’s all about setting aside your ego and looking for opportunities to spark exciting change in your organization. Once you embrace the ignite model of leadership, you’ll find that your team is eager to experience your ideas — and share their own brilliant ones.

This article was based on a conversation I had with Tim Windsor on the Simplifying Entrepreneurship Podcast (episode 9) where he outlines his Ignite Feedback model. You can watch the full unedited video below.