Your team is resistant to feedback. How can you foster a culture of open communication?

I believe that the secret to encouraging free communication is to establish a nurturing atmosphere where criticism is viewed as a tool for development rather than as a critique. You may gradually change the culture to one that values and supports open discourse by being consistent and empathic.

If your team is resistant to feedback, it's important to create a safe and supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. Start by setting a good example by being open to feedback yourself. Encourage your team to give and receive feedback constructively by focusing on specific behaviors and offering suggestions for improvement. Make sure to acknowledge and appreciate everyone's contributions, even if you don't agree with them. Over time, this will help to build trust and create a culture where open communication is valued.

For some, coming forward and owning up to our own shortfalls is a sign of weakness. Inviting team members to discourse over your own experience is a great gesture of transparency and openness to listen. In fact, it could be a habit that sows trust and collaboration among the team, all while becoming a real-world coaching circle. Trust is earned. If we want it, it starts with ourselves being honest, open to share and listen, and ready to respond in a constructive manner vs. being defensive or totally disconnected. In time, they will follow your lead.

Making the team members to speak and realizing their own problems will be the easy way for providing feedback in an inclusive way. In step by step process make them to speak to voice out the scenario, acknowledging their contribution in the process and then helping them to know what went wrong follow it scenario changes will help them to understand their road blacks and accpet the feedback. In the process we can make other too to speak about their way of handling the same scenario will also help in a open communciation without hurting anyone.

If I learned anything from my hero and role model, Brick Tamland (and I’m confident I haven’t), there is a very simple and effective way to communicate when you are unsure about a topic and that is to make LOUD NOISES. 60% of the time, it works every time.

It is definitely important to keep feedback crisp, constructive and based on situations n behavior analysis. When we share something based on personality trait, the team members can not organically accept it. Instead, sharing a past instance with them or experience where the feedback worked would help them understand the importance of it. Often sharing the experience and outcomes of applying it would build the confidence in abilities and direction provided. So it is important to get involved and lead through actions than words at times.

Yes, agree always lead by example as team observes us and be constructive and specific as such major learnings happens thru experience. More age of wine will be more finer.

The most effective way that has proven to work for me leading teams through the years is by being able to adjust communication style depending on the individual but also relying performance coaching on the job attributes and responsibilities, and not on personal preferences. (Comparison is the killer of joy)

I’ve opened every coaching conversation with questions such as what do you think is going well? How do you feel we are performing as a team? This approach has truly opened many dialogues where the feedback looks more like a two-way street where we’re collaborating more than petitioning.

Instant recognition as we move to work with Z gen along X and Y. So keep appreciating instantly which will boost morale and will make team member feel inclusive.

- Change the approach by fostering positive talks like circle meetings where everyone gets to say about their recent wins, insights and what you need to improve and focus on in the following weeks.

Feedback should be evidence and impact based rather than personalising. E2C2- Evidence, Effect , Change , Continue is a great feedback model.

We can build a proper reporting mechanism whereby work done is tracked for quality and efficiency which could be prepared at a common place. Day to day or even a weekly review of reporting sheet would help us to keep track of performance.