This article appeared in Marketing the Law Firm, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication reporting on the latest, and most effective, strategies for Chief Marketing Officers, Managing Partners, Law Firm Marketing Directors, Administrators and Consultants.

One of the most powerful tools to improve the performance of a team is the ability to give and receive feedback effectively.

The other day my 11-year-old daughter watched a video of herself, and she commented, "Do I really sound like that? It that really my voice?" We've all had that experience — our perception of our behavior, attitudes and intentions are sometimes different that how they come across in reality. We need feedback to understand other's perception of reality. We need to both give and receive feedback effectively to understand our blind spots and improve performance.