Everyday Equations: How they come to life

As we enter the last few months of 2022 and begin to turn our focus toward 2023, I wanted to highlight a couple energizing conversations I had with some of my Deloitte Consulting teammates about how they bring our equations to life in their everyday work. Our first set of conversations focus on two very important and relevant Everyday Equations: Real-time direct feedback > overly polite commentary and your well-being > your organization’s well-being.

While I’ll discuss the latter in the coming weeks, I wanted to focus on one of the most important Everyday Equations for our community and, frankly, one that perhaps isn’t implemented nearly as holistically as it should be: Real-time direct feedback > overly polite commentary.  

So, what does it mean to give real-time direct feedback? It means getting to the heart of the matter, not surrounding your feedback in banter or small talk, and articulating the essence of the message you’re trying to deliver in real-time.  

Often where I see leaders fall short in this equation is around the critical component of real-time. By not giving important real-time feedback and waiting to deliver it for months and months, it easily becomes a way bigger deal than it should.  

Everyone wants to get better, learn, and grow. So, it is up to each of us to share the things that are percolating in our minds on how someone can better and give them that real-time direct feedback. In doing that, you’ll see how the recipient repays that gift of feedback overtime.  

Here’s how my colleague Maggie Nowell is focused on living this equation every day.