Leadership Insights: Data-Driven Decision Making | Buffini Blog
Dermot Buffini interviews Jon Acuff, a bestselling author, keynote speaker and leadership expert.
- Mastering Feedback
Part of becoming an exceptional leader is to not isolate yourself away from your team and make all decisions on your own, Acuff said. Rather, it’s important to allow room for feedback.
“It does take humility, and it does take vulnerability, but the ROI is worth it,” he added. “And then you get people to celebrate with. One of the loneliest parts of leadership is when you don’t have anybody to high five.”
“You [need] to have people you can celebrate with so they build you up, they encourage you, they challenge you, they tell you the truth, and it’s somebody to celebrate with too.”
- Handling Tough Feedback
Just as important, Acuff stressed, was the ability to be open to receiving “tough” feedback.
“If somebody gives you hard feedback and you argue first, you just eliminated a friend. You just told them, ‘Never give me the truth again,’” he said.
Allowing team members to have the freedom to tell real truths and not just what they think will make the leader happy will ultimately benefit the entire team.
- Prioritize Data over Drama
Team leaders don’t have the luxury of being stressed or “dramatic,’” Acuff said. Instead, they should rely on data.
“People hate data because it tells them the truth. But the reality is data kills denial, which prevents disaster,” he added. “Data will just go like, ‘Hey, you’re headed toward a cliff. Like the bridge is out. If you keep going at that speed, you’re going off the cliff.’ [Data] is just trying to help you.”
“So the faster you as a leader can make friends with data and not add drama, another one of your goals as a leader is to reduce drama.”
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