Feed Back. The BIG AHA.

Everyone wants and needs feedback.

The Challenge?

It can definitely trigger emotional responses.

One of the most common "feedback strategies" is the Annual Review. aka.... once a year managers try to sugar coat their employees skill gaps and mistakes with all the positives. Employee gets pissed off anyway. I personally have been pissed off for at least a week on almost every annual review I've ever gotten. Mainly because I disagree with the manager out of ego.... (even if I know they are 100% right.)

Ask a musician or a speaker or singer if they like feedback- you know that loud screeching noise when a microphone picks up sound from a speaker and the sound is fed back through the speakers in a loop. Interesting relatable parallel lol.

Poorly delivered feedback can have a tremendously negative effect on morale, engagement, and trust.

I do fully believe that we humans inherently do want to know how we are doing though.

I mean.... look at social media. An entire Trillion dollar industry was created around the idea of getting instant feedback, aka a "Like".

So lets start looking at the What Why and How of feedback in our Careers.... and I'm going to share a FRESH perspective at the end.

The What:

The Best definition of Feedback I could find is: the process of providing information, insights, or observations to an individual about their performance, behaviors, or skills in a work or professional setting.

The Why:

The best intention of feedback is to help the person understand how they are progressing, identify areas of strength and areas that need improvement, and guide them toward achieving their career goals.

But.... i think most of us screw up in how we actually give and receive feedback... and it becomes a negative experience.

So lets get to The How.

After researching countless "strategies", I feel like the SBI Method is one of the most effective and easy to remember frameworks.

Describe the Situation, Focus on the Behavior, and explain the Impact of that behavior.

I personally like this method (if done correctly), because it is straightforward, removes ambiguity, and can encourage constructive conversations. And... the 3 letters make it easy to remember.

Seems simple enough right? But it's actually difficult to get it right.

• Many times we don't want to hear about our negative performance
• We get defensive
• We dismiss feedback as just someone's opinion, and not actual fact
• We might like to give feedback, but hate to receive it.
• We all have all sorts of biases (confirmation bias, leniency bias, gender bias, similarity bias, recency bias, halo effect and horns effect, attribution bias, first impression bias, and many more) I think I could write a book just on biases.

This is now the 91st article I wrote on growth and learning in the workplace. I've likely waited this long to write this one because I dislike everything about traditional feedback strategies. That being said, I still fully believe that feedback is an absolute critical piece in the growth process.

With that, let's get into the real lesson of the day.

PROACTIVELY SEEK FEEDBACK IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE GROWTH.

There is some real magic in this strategy.

It doesn't matter if you are a leader or an employee. Everyone can benefit by being PROACTIVE and asking for the feedback instead of waiting for someone to give it to you.

First lets talk about three reasons WHY, and then we will get to the HOW.

1. We all have blind spots. Asking for feedback helps us see areas of our performance or skill sets that we may not even be aware of. This will broaden our perspective and give us much better data to grow effectively.
2. We can strengthen our relationships. When we actively seek feedback, we show others that we are open to learning and we VALUE their input. This builds trust and opens up the gates for future open communication.
3. We can shift from "perfection" to "continuous improvement". Instead of always trying to get the "like" or "positive feedback" on our work, we can shift our mindset to consistently evolving and growing. Our mistakes and faults turn into opportunities for growth, and we become more excited to hear where we are not "perfect".

Alright- lets get into the HOW.

1. Pick a specific Skill, Behavior, Task that you want input on. DO NOT ask a general question like "how am I doing". Instead, ask something like "I'd love to get your perspective on HOW I handled (insert skill task behavior here). Where do you think I could improve?"
2. Create a Safe and Open Environment. Use phrases like "I'm really trying to improve in this area, I'd appreciate your honest opinion, even if its critical." Don't get defensive or try to explain reasoning behind your behavior. The goal is to encourage open, honest communication. Even if you don't agree with the feedback, just acknowledge and appreciate it in the moment. I know for myself, it takes me a few days for the feedback to really sink in.
3. Ask Follow-Up Questions for Clarity. If the feedback is unclear, ask more questions to get a deeper understanding. The ultimate goal is for you to get to a point to know exactly what actionable steps you can take towards improvement.
4. Ask a diverse group of people. This will help overcome all of the biases i mentioned above, and provide a more well rounded perspective. From managers, to peers, to customers, and more... anyone that could have valuable feedback on the specific skill, behavior or task you want input on.
5. Build a consistent Feedback Routine. Don't wait for the dreaded annual review. Some feedback sessions could be very quick and informal. Shorter feedback loops let you see whats working and what isn't faster.... allowing you to make incremental adjustments and grow faster.

I wrote this article because I myself struggle with receiving unsolicited feedback. But if we as leaders can take ownership of the feedback process and be proactive, it creates a positive win-win environment for everyone!

Lets get into action.

ACTION STEPS:

1. Yep, I'm going to make you do it. Get vulnerable. Pick that skill, behavior or task that you want input on. And start practicing asking for feedback proactively. It may suck the first few times, but once you get rolling with it, I promise it will change your world for the better!
2. If you are a leader, start asking for specific feedback about your OWN skills, behaviors or task from the members on your team. Emulate the behaviors that you would want them to emulate. Eventually your team members will start asking you for feedback instead of you constantly having to be the bad guy.

High five on reading through this article. I truly appreciate the moments you spend with me on these topics. We as leaders need to inspire growth and learning in the workplace, now more than ever! People are struggling in today's world, and professional growth is a fantastic way to build confidence and self-worth. I promise to continue to provide fresh, actionable content on this topic, week after week. Thank you for subscribing!

Your Friend,

Dan

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