I know you are very anxious to read about Feedback. But First tell me that you have read about Reflection in my previous post. If yes, you can read further and if not, go back and read about Reflection. And If you are a new reader I suggest go back to my first post and start from there. It is a journey that has a start, middle and no end :). Today you are going to read about Effective Feedback. This blog post on Feedback will be finished in 2 or 3 parts depending on the text that I have to share. If I feel that it is getting to long I will stop writing and the rest will be in the later post.
All of you know the importance of Feedback so I will not get into the detail of defining Feedback. I will write very basics of Feedback, types of Feedback, barriers in taking and giving Feedback and so on. For professionals out there it will be a refresher course and for new readers it will be the basic knowledge of Feedback. So lets get right into Effective Feedback.
Effective Feedback
Feedback is important when you work in groups. Regular, good quality Feedback is one of the most important ingredients in building constructive relationships and getting jobs done. So when you work in a groups try to remember these:
- Openness creates trust and trust creates openness.
- Talk directly and clear to each other in order to work constructively.
- Build an open culture and
- Do not sit and wait for someone else to take the first step, be a leader.
- Be a creator instead of a follower.
These are some of the basic points to remember when you are working in a group. These points will make you more effective and get the job done. Feedback is a two way process, it creates trust and openness in a group. Feedback is both positive and negative and later I will give you some tips on these. But for now let me just stick with the above mentioned points. In a group work when you want to give a feedback first ask the following questions to yourself.
- How do the others think I contribute to the team?
- Does the climate allow us to talk to the others about how I think they work?
- What can I do to open up a constructive dialogue?
- How can I share and talk about how I feel?
- What can I do to show that I am willing to listen to the others thoughts and feelings?
Feedback is a two way street and you cannot just go up to somebody and start giving him Feedback. It does not work like this. You have to build a trust and to do that you need to be open minded, never come late, do your assignment on time, be part of the discussions etc. Basically you should be everything that I have written from my first blog post up till now. And when you are doing it all you are ready to give Feedback and the questions that I have shared here are just a reminder for you to see them as a final check. After this you are ready to give Feedback.
Giving Feedback is easy but how to give is another topic which I will discuss in the next part of this blog along with other important things to remember while taking Feedback.
Coming back to today’s giving Effective Feedback topic. I just want to finish by sharing about the Aim of giving Effective Feedback.
AIM
- The aim is to help each other to do a better job
- Or keep on doing the great job you already doing.
- You want good for one another.
- It is not about blaming or being right.
- It is about having a constructive and honest dialogue.
The aim of helping each other gives people the opportunity to develop an already suitable mode of behavior & attitude and change any less suitable behavior if their attention is drawn to it in a constructive way.
Important to remember:
- It is easy to misinterpret the feedback you get if you mix up what you do with who you are.
- Giving feedback is about what you do and not who you are.
- Feedback is about your behaviors and what you can do to improve the collaboration in a group by altering your behaviors.
There are ways to give and receive feedback to make it easier to distinguish and really see that the feedback is about what you do and not about your worth as a person.
I think this is enough for one day. I will continue from here in the part 2 of the Feedback by sharing some types of Feedback that I know off and I would love to get your feedback on them. For now remember to absorb these points and I will see you in the next post.
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/Imran