This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

Hey, gang, today we are talking to a dude who got fired from his extremely high-profile job

and then received a ton of critical feedback about his performance on said job and then turned

it all around and staged what has been a remarkable comeback. Dan Quinn is head coach of the

Washington commanders. I hasten ad that if you're

not into sports, don't worry about it. This is not really a conversation about football. It's about a guy who,

as I mentioned, got fired from the Atlanta Falcons back in 2020 and then signed up for a voluntary

360 review. That's where you solicit feedback from your bosses and peers

and direct reports. In this case, he solicited feedback from former players and peers and his bosses.

And then he brought all of the stuff he learned from the 360 review to his new job at the

Washington Commanders, where last year, in his first year,

he created a really interesting culture, and they had a surprisingly great season.

And so we're posting this interview on what is the opening game for the Washington commanders.

A personal note, you might be wondering, why do I, a guy who has historically not given a shit about sports,

why do I care about the commanders who play in a city where I don't even live?

The reason is that my brother-in-law, my wife's much younger half-brother, Jack Quaurello,

is a pro scout for the commanders, which has turned my family into rabid fans. Shout out to Jack,

by the way, for helping me set up this interview. And speaking of this interview, in it, we talk

not only about how to solicit and handle tough feedback, by which I mean not getting defensive,

actually hearing the feedback, and then making real change. But we also talk about how to give

clear feedback without being

an asshole, secrets for getting the best out of people, and strategies for recovering from

...