How can you promote constructive feedback and resolve team conflict?

The creation of a workplace culture that promotes and values open communication and constructive criticism starts and stops at the top. As a leader of a team you need to project the behavior that you want your team to emulate. By being open to new ideas and new ways to do things, including being open to receiving feedback (positive or negative but always constructive) on your ideas and initiatives reinforces this with your team. But receiving feedback is different from giving it. When giving feedback never criticize or devalue someone's ideas or actions.

We are very quick to take things personally. There is a sense of pride in the work you do and how you deliver it. The difference that came from using “you” statements to “I” statements was astounding; it leads to more productive coaching conversations, it increases a feeling of inclusion. Not only should you turn phrasing inward, instead of accusatory verbiage, make it come from you. Use the opportunity to gain perspective: ask open ended questions. Example: Someone is falling behind on some work, you could say “you seem to be having issues with time management” or you could ask “I noticed that some work wasn’t as timely as usual, is there anything going on or something I can do to help?” It all comes down to the approach.

Opting for versatile feedback approaches, the "feedforward" method is my favorite. Unlike feedback, it eschews past actions, focusing on the future. Both giver and receiver synchronize their intentions with feedforward's ultimate aim: fostering progress for the recipient. Key queries steer this approach: 1. How can I elevate my future attitude? 2. To kickstart change now, how should I proceed? 3. Envisaging a transformed path, how do you perceive my future? 4. What notable benefits accompany these anticipated shifts? By sidestepping historical actions and prioritizing proactive tactics, feedforward emerges as an invaluable strategy. It nurtures a forward-facing outlook that propels growth and advancement.

7-steps that can help promote constructive feedback and resolving team conflicts: 1) Set Expectations: Define rules for respectful communication and constructive feedback. 2) Foster Open Communication: Encourage open, respectful dialogue. 3) Provide Training: Offer resources on effective feedback and conflict resolution. 4) Use a Feedback Model: Guide team members to focus on specific behaviors. 5) Facilitate Conflict Resolution: Address conflicts promptly, focusing on solutions. 6) Monitor Progress: Assess and adjust processes as needed. 7) Build Trust and Respect: Encourage empathy, celebrate successes, and continuously work on building a positive culture. *Feedback = Growth. Conflict = Understanding + Collaboration

First, leaders must recognize the problem before feedback can be effective. Leaders often mistake symptoms for the problem when identifying key challenges. The core issue generates various symptoms, and solely addressing these surface indicators is ineffective. While symptoms indicate an underlying cause, they are not the cause itself. Getting clear as to the problem regarding feedback is critical.

Being an Area Manager for Amazon and ESL teacher for adults, I've recognized how much adults are just bigger kids. Adults are quick to "frame a story" about what someone else meant by a certain comment or behavior. Instead of having tantrums (most of the time), they may become angry or emotionally hurt. They'll try their best to not display that emotion, but if it had an impact it will show up in a disagreement later on. The reason for this analogy of adults being bigger kids, is how to resolve a large number of these disagreements. Recognize the emotions they might have, remember a SIMILAR experience you have had, and then approach the person. Don't create a story about why a person is acting a certain way before hearing their story.

Drawing from my experience as a project manager, I've come to recognize that conflict holds a valuable place within high-performance teams. When you assemble a group of exceptional professionals, it becomes essential to create an environment that encourages open communication and the emergence of conflicts. These differing viewpoints and conflicts, rather than being detrimental, actually pave the way for superior outcomes to materialize. It's important to undestand that a distinction exists between constructive and detrimental conflict. Allowing conflicts to escalate to a personal level or to the extent that they impede the collaborative capabilities of your team is something to be vigilantly avoided.

Conflict, is an important phase of the real higher performance teams building. Sometimes is necessary to have diverse ways of thinking, and some conflict, challenge the status quo, in order to create more resilience and consistent solutions.

Everything during a one on one conversation is a continue loop of information-feedback. It is important to be aware of our own emotional state and the employee's too. What we say or not say, what we do or do not, everything communicates something, and creating feedback too. So, what you should to "feedback" about, is equal important that the way you deliver it.