How do you create a feedback culture in your organization and why is it important?

When an organization decides to create a feedback culture and uses 360 programs, sometimes, people feel threatened or worry that people will "say bad things" about them. Consequently, it's critical for leaders to explain the benefits of this process, how to unpack negative (and positive) feedback, and how to provide constructive feedback that someone can use to improve.

Feedback and follow-through are the corner stones of Innovation and a great culture which admired leaders strive to create. When leaders provide tough feedback, it shows they care enough to make their people see their own strengths to leverage, weakness to form new skills and eliminate blind spots and bottlenecks to move ahead and get their boots on the ground. All what admired leaders look for is an opportunity to form a robust relationship of trust and candor. By doing this they make investments in their people. This is one of the biggest contributions that best leaders do for their people. So, the next time when your leader offers their highest feedback, take it as a compliment which reflects a deep care & concern for your development.

In any role, enterprise or firm - Feedback loop, a 360 view and an open and honest dialogue forum is important. Feedback isnt all about criticism, its essentially gathering perspectives from stakeholders, while earning an opportunity to also share feedback. Its a two way process. Culture of feedback is key to build a strong open-honest and communicative culture, to break barriers, operate more openly and exchange views. The human mindset often associated with feedback considers it negative, instead the need for feedback has to get embedded across all layers of an organization and ecosystem

In most companies, giving and receiving feedback is often viewed as a difficult activity, specially areas of improvement. Before setting feedback expectations, leadership must build alignment on the following: - Feedback is a gift - Employees should solicit well meaning and constructive feedback - Leadership should act as role models. - Everyone believes that feedback sessions are a learning opportunity. Leadership also needs to ensure that there is positive energy around feedback rather than apprehension and concern. than apprehension and concern. -

From a psychological standpoint, offering excessive unsolicited feedback can be perceived as intrusive, leading to defensiveness and demotivation. Drawing from the Self-Determination Theory, individuals have three core psychological needs: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Excessive unsolicited feedback can threaten one’s sense of autonomy and competence, diminishing intrinsic motivation. Therefore, establishing psychological safety is paramount. Before feedback can be truly effective, organizations must foster an environment where members feel safe expressing opinions and admitting mistakes without fear of backlash. This way, feedback, whether sought or unsolicited, is seen as a tool for growth rather than criticism.

One of the key steps is to encourage feedback from all directions. This means valuing and considering the opinions and perspectives of every individual involved. Regardless of their position or role, everyone's feedback holds significance and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the business. By actively soliciting feedback and creating a safe space for open dialogue, you demonstrate that every individual's opinion matters. This inclusivity fosters a sense of ownership and empowers individuals to share their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions without hesitation. When people feel that their feedback is valued, they become more engaged, committed, and motivated to contribute to the organization's growth. ??

Feedback taken or received should always be more than 1 person. To avoid rater bias and a halo or horn effect. In a strong and effective culture of people+performance, feedback ideally should be more rounded and holistic. Individual and direct reporting/hierarchies can or could always bring some form of bias. Instead more diverse views would often provide more perspective, instrospection, examples for the person receiving feedback. In a good and evolved performance tool - continuous feedback, opportunities to react and share thoughts, providing examples, steps for continuous improvements are necessary and critical

i think the most convenient and realistic way to collect my clients' feedback is to ask questions when visiting or calling them. not everyone likes to spend their working time on filling forms in an email or clicking on the survey link for a vendor. and also, most people like to communicate with real people instead of designed forms or desinged apps.

of course we will also get some "unwanted" or "unexpected" or infeasible feedbacks. how do we react to those feedback? i think we still need to appreciate the feeback provider first. after all, if they don't care, they don't need to talk. and also we need to understand why they give the feedback. and then we can provide our perspective, whether we think the same issue in a different way or why the feedback is not feasible for the timebeing. it's important to let them know that we hear them and thank them for the feedback but we don't necessarily agree on everything. maybe they'll come up with more feedbacks and we can finally find some points to act upon.

It’s important to remember that corrective feedback can greatly aid our professional growth. Yet, its effectiveness hinges on the recipient’s emotional maturity and a foundation of psychological safety within the organization. Amy Edmondson’s research emphasizes that psychological safety lets individuals take interpersonal risks, such as giving or receiving tough feedback, without fearing negative outcomes. Thus, for corrective feedback to truly benefit us, a blend of emotional maturity and a safe, supportive environment is paramount.

We have an open-door policy which works all ways and plenty of options to create and give feedback, from casual chatting on Slack to surveys, to recurring 1:1 calls. When leadership asks for feedback, it's very helpful to establish such a habit inside the teams. I also ask for it regularly and make sure to address concerns and announce achievements in a timely manner. We create a safe space for exchange.

a good way to develop feedback skills is role play. lecture or seminar provides knowledge, role play offers practical experience. different people react differently to feedback. we can ask team members to act as colleagues in different style and practise different feedback skills.

Fostering a feedback culture is vital for organizational growth. Leading by example, encouraging open communication, and instituting tools like regular check-ins and 360-degree feedback nurture this culture. Including anonymous channels and providing feedback training ensures its effectiveness. Acknowledging and acting on feedback spurs continuous improvement and learning. This culture is crucial, driving ongoing enhancement, employee development, and communication improvement. It aids performance management, innovation, and engagement, strengthening teams and goal alignment. Ultimately, a feedback culture builds trust, adapts to change, and positions the organization as a dynamic, learning-oriented entity.

i think the most important factor of developing a healthy feedback culture is the boss/leader take the lead to give feedback and courage feedback from others. it's more effective when people see that you listen to them and do somthing to act upon their feedbacks instead of saying "we encourage feedbac" all day without taking any real action.

It’s important to remember that while feedback is a desired behavior, the feedback happening shouldn’t be the desired outcome. It should be driving towards a larger outcome. You can create a culture where feedback is happening, yet the feedback isn’t accomplishing anything of value. Some immediate areas to focus are ensuring you have a strong foundation of trust, clarity around what “good” feedback looks like, and a robust development/feedback loop that allows people to develop. Without trust, even great feedback won’t be received or actioned on, so it’s important to assess and address opportunities to increase trust levels. In parallel you can be defining what good feedback looks like, so people can assess and develop the skill.