4. Look for the Trends
It’s really easy to get lost in specific details when you’re assessing feedback.
That can be as simple as saying, “Well, she said X at the meeting, but he said Y.” Or you can get lost in the comments or in an inbox and before you know it, your mind feels like mud.
But there are always trends.
In the end, that’s what our team looked for.
Which cover had the most positive ratings?
Which had the most negative?
What did the comments tell us about design revision for the next round?
We kept refining and making it better, and as we did, the winning cover design eeked out more and more positive ratings.
At the end, it had only a 9 percent negative rating, a 73 percent positive rating, and an 18 percent neutral rating.
Good enough for this side of heaven.
If you don’t look for trends, you’ll let the 9 percent of negative voices drown out the other 91 percent.
You’ll keep revising and revising hoping to hit 100 percent, which you won’t.
Too many churches and organizations let a tiny percentage of negative voices snuff out a positive future.
5. Make the Call, and Look for Consensus Later
The best buy-in happens after a decision is made.
There’s rarely a consensus around courage. Courage requires too much brawn to be popular.
Courage almost never finds consensus before a decision is made. Consensus around courage always happens after, when people see the results.
Whether it’s a phone with no physical keyboard, a ride-sharing service (What? You think people would share their own cars???), or video locations (people will never go to a church and watch a screen), consensus usually only forms after courageous steps are taken.
Too many leaders look for consensus on the front side of courage, which they will never get. And if you do get consensus, chances are you’ve already watered down your decision enough that it’s no longer courageous.
The Israelites always want to go back to slavery after they’ve been released. The desert is too hard, and the Promised Land is too far off.
You’ll never find consensus on the front side of courage. So just be courageous.
What Are You Learning
What are you learning about sifting through the many opinions you hear as a leader?
This article originally appeared here.
