You’re an IT Outsourcing professional looking to advance your career. How can feedback help you get there?

Feedback is akin to “showing someone a mirror” and following it up with pointed discussion on the reflection (both positive and negative). It’s a critical tool for keeping your team’s performance consistently high yet ensuring that the recipient remains motivated to work on their opportunities and give their best foot forward. It should be a recurring task and totally aligned to accomplishing the goals (professional as well as personal).

Feedback helps you identify areas where you excel and areas needing improvement. This allows you to focus your development efforts for maximum impact. Managers and clients feedback can reveal hidden talents and suggest new directions for your career within IT outsourcing.

In IT outsourcing, feedback is vital for growth. It's more than critique; it's a compass guiding us to excellence. Through experience, I've seen how feedback fosters open communication, driving innovation and collaboration. It empowers individuals to own their development, refining skills and approaches. Additionally, feedback serves as a catalyst for trust and transparency within teams, fostering a culture of honesty and mutual respect. Feedback is indispensable in the ever-evolving landscape, unlocking potential for long-term success and ensuring continual improvement.

Providing and receiving feedback typically has a negative reputation. But it shouldn't. Providing feedback is key for continuous improvement. It is directly linked to individual, leader en organisational development. When receiving feedback it helps employees to become more engaged with their organisation. As an employee it helps you leveraging your strengths and at the same time improving gaps in your capabilities.

Don't wait for feedback to come to you. Take a proactive approach: Schedule regular feedback sessions: Request dedicated time with your manager or project lead to discuss your performance. Be specific in your request: Instead of a generic "how am I doing?", ask targeted questions about specific projects, skills, or areas you'd like to improve. Frame your request positively: Express your desire to learn and grow.

Giving feedback is sometimes even harder than receiving it. Providing feedback should be constructive, positive, specific and at the right time. It's very simple. What went well and can further grow into the future. Next to that what can be improved and what are suggestions to do so. This can be done by proactively providing suggestions or by jointly exploring options for improvement. Feedback should be for the receiver's and not for the provider's benefit.

Make it clear that feedback is valued and seen as a tool for development, not criticism. Actively seek feedback from your team members and superiors, and openly share your own reflections. Frame feedback as an opportunity to learn and improve, not a punishment for mistakes

Important for the culture is having a growth mindset in stead of a fixed mindset. Key for the feedback process is that this should be done in a "safe" environment. People who provide feedback for improvement should be confident that that feedback will be used for people development purposes, not for initiating a negative impact.