Think about it…where in your life, business and/or personal, have you set up a planned method to give and receive feedback?
“You make decisions, take actions, affect the world, receive feedback from the world, incorporate it into yourself, then the updated you, makes more decisions, and so forth, around and around.”
Douglas Hofstadter
Making feedback normal
The Annual Review at a company is often nothing more than a check the box exercise. If communication is important, at least have a quarterly review set up for everyone in the workplace. If developing your people is really important, a monthly review would be even better.
With technology now it is no longer necessary to travel to have these conversations, based on feedback, in a physical face-to-face setting. There are numerous video conferencing tools available and many have no cost to utilize them.
“Make feedback normal. Not a performance review.”
Ed Batista
You see what is going on. In fact, many people see what is going on. Due to the title of the individual no one ever gives them feedback. The feedback may be how they speak to people not with people. How they ignore people or hand wave them away – Shoo, Shoo!
Consider the possibility that they do not even recognize what they are doing. How these behaviors are portraying them as anything but a leader of people at the company. They need someone to give them feedback.
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things”
Winston Churchill
There is a technique to giving and receiving feedback.
For one thing feedback should never be delivered like an instructor at Marine Boot camp. Recognize you are helping out and adding great value to a person. The concept is for them to gain an awareness of this issue and to take corrective action.
Secondly when receiving feedback don’t take it personal and start throwing out excuses. Own the message and acknowledge that you hear it. Thank the person giving you the feedback.
In the best case you know each other and you regularly meet to offer each other feedback. Once you understand and accept the feedback engage in this process and work together to establish the steps to take in order to turn this around.
“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a person’s growth without destroying their roots”
Frank A. Clark
On both sides there is a great feeling of reluctance.
People will generally stay away from giving constructive feedback on a regular basis, or even on the one off chance feedback, people are not fans of hearing feedback right back into their own ears about themselves. This may be even more true in their personal lives.
“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
Bill Gates
My tips:
- Seek out feedback from one or more people you trust and who really have contact with you on a planned and regular basis.
- Become an excellent giver of feedback by working on the skills necessary, such as it is not about knocking the person down. It is all about building them up.
Mitch Tublin is the CEO and Founder of Wenkroy International LLC a boutique consulting company with a main focus on Strategic Business Consulting, Training and Business Coaching. Our passion is to take people to the next level in their life and in their business. Are you interested in having Mitch speak at your company or event – click here?
