What are the most effective ways to apply feedback in your daily work?

Avoiding a formal feedback process helps maintaining a strong coaching relationship. When feedback is necessary, embedding it in stories allows the individual to view their situation from a different, more objective perspective. This technique encourages self-discovery of the feedback at a time when defenses are down. Clarity and direct relevance are paramount; vague feedback has no place in coaching. Feedback should always aim for a clear outcome or value for the coachee. A common misunderstanding is the effectiveness of negative feedback. Instead of applying pressure through negative reinforcement, establishing a new, positive baseline has been shown to be more effective for development and motivation.

1. Cultivate a Growth Mindset 2. Actively Seek Feedback 3. Listen Actively and Openly 4. Reflect on the Feedback 5. Develop an Action Plan 6. Communicate Your Intentions 7. Implement Changes Gradually 8. Monitor Your Progress 9. Express Gratitude 10. Foster a Feedback Culture

On receiving feedback one should first get a hold of one's emotions and understand that the person offering feedback, is actually a wellwisher, even if they may have pointed fingers at one's behavior/actions/ reactions. Once that is behind and one is able to look at the feedback with equanimity, seek clarification about the context, impact and frequency of the behavior(s). The information needs to then be internalized to understand what made or makes one behave in a particular manner, as pointed out. Thereafter, prepare an action plan to consciously keep a check and overcome the negative behaviors. Also keep note of how many times one is repeating the behavior. This helps understand progress towards self-improvement.

If feedback is not clear, or does not resonate with the person, I advise clients to reflect and think if they have heard this kind of feedback before, and ignored it, ask the provider for clarification, as well as seek feedback and other people's perspectives. We do not need to act and absorb everyone's feedback. We need to thank the provider and then assess both why we are resisting it and the other side's motive and intent.

Try to distill the behavior that is mentioned. E.g. "You had a great presentation" doens't tell you what to do more of in the future. "Communicate better" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. Is it about vocabulary? frequency? volume? negative sentiment?

Specific feedback can be helpful but often what colleagues provide is more generalized or vague. Before questioning the feedback, consider what it could mean and what it seems to mean to you. What is the context that you interact with the person providing feedback? Have you received similar feedback from others in the past? Then follow these steps. 1) Reach out with appreciation that the person was willing to speak up. 2) Repeat what you heard (which may be different from what they meant). 3) Ask if you got it right (i.e., did you understand them correctly?). 4) Explain that it would be helpful if they could share an example or be more specific because you need clarification. 5) Don't forget to say thank you!

An example of this process is an employee receiving feedback on presentation skills, reflecting on areas for improvement, planning to attend a workshop, applying new skills in presentations, and adjusting based on feedback for continuous improvement.

Many leaders do not receive enough feedback, and that's because they don't seek it out or don't create an environment that encourages people to do so. Regularly ask people what you're missing and what they see differently. Explicitly ask them to "debug" your approach and give them permission to do so. Further, whenever you realize later that someone knew something but didn't tell you about it in advance, talk to them about it and try to ensure it doesn't happen again and what in your behavior made them feel it wasn't safe to mention before.