How to Make Your Mark

Giving feedback and holding people accountable are perhaps two of the toughest things anyone could ever do in the area of relationships. Human beings have an innate desire to want to be in ‘good books’ with those around them.  Most of the time we do our best to steer clear of anything that could jeopardize the relationships in our lives.

I have a friend who had a mentor that he respected so much. This mentor was great in many aspects of his life except for one - he drank too much. My friend struggled with giving strong feedback to this person for many years. However, one day he decided to talk about it. This proved to be very fruitful because the mentor really appreciated it and made the changes he needed to make in his life.

The truth is that people do value honest feedback - particularly if they are committed to becoming the very best they could be. Stephen Covey, bestselling author of The 8th Habit wrote, “The students I am closest to from my years as a teacher are those I gave strong feedback to. “You’re better than that. I won’t let you off the hook. There are no excuses. You can pay the price.” Many have told me that holding them to the responsible course — having them live with the full consequences of their actions — was a life-changing, defining moment, though hard for both of us at the time.” So, be confident in giving strong feedback today. You never know. You just might make a great difference for someone.