We have a need, a need for micro validations ????

I have a theory about a way to augment existing feedback loops in the workplace, to improve overall employee engagement and wellbeing.

Many companies today have systems in place to give employees an opportunity to gain feedback and set goals to improve the way they work. Sometimes this is called ‘360° Review’ or an ‘Annual assessment’ but either way it's a process designed to enable you to request observations from colleagues on how you are working, what kind of things you can do to develop in your career and perhaps work towards promotion. These reviews (if implemented correctly) can be a really great opportunity to help people to thrive in the workplace. However, I think they have one small flaw. I’ll explain…

You like coffee, right? It tastes nice, keeps you warm (can you tell it’s January?) and gives you that much needed boost. Perhaps you’re the kind of ‘4-cups-a-day’ coffee drinker. On a normal day maybe you’d start with a coffee in the morning and then have the rest at 3-4 hour intervals… but, one day you think “What if I drank all 4 coffees in one go… at 8am?”. After all, that would be the most efficient approach!

Assuming, you were able to consume that much liquid, you might find that you were super alert and full of enthusiasm, buzzing for the work day ahead. However, by 3pm you would definitely experience a massive caffeine come-down (and probably a splitting headache as well), struggling to focus and needing a lie down in a dark room.

That is what annual feedback can be like. You meet with your manager and they read the feedback from your colleagues and walk though each point. Perhaps it’s all glowing, maybe there’s a few areas for improvement… either way, you leave the meeting on a high, ready to tackle the day. The problem can be that this ‘high’ can be relatively short lived, and soon enough doubts can creep in… “Could that meeting have gone better?”, “Does the client like me?” or “What if I drink too much coffee?”. I hypothesise that this is particularly the case with remote working where interactions are (in the main) more focussed and project related. There’s not much opportunity to see the non-verbal feedback or audible ‘Micro validations’… so it’s hard to baseline where you’re at and check you're doing a good job.

So what do I mean by ‘Micro validations’? It’s nothing revolutionary really… in fact many people are already very good at it. It’s recognising people’s involvement and achievements all the time. It should be authentic and based in reality, but needs to happen at the point that we identify someone has done something well. Examples might be “Well done on that presentation”, “Thanks for stepping last minute to cover that meeting” or “That diagram was great, I could see the client appreciated the hard work you put into it”.

Additionally, I was reminded today by fellow ‘Diagram enthusiast’ Bryan Stallings , that we should also strive to go beyond just performance feedback, and focus on ‘Impact feedback’. That being, you highlight how the individuals’ actions had an effect - “The way you diffused that heated conversation really helped move the meeting to a more positive outcome” or “Taking charge on that meeting really helped me out and made my day a lot easier”.

Whilst it might not seem like much to the person giving the micro feedback, it can have a hugely positive effect on the receiver. We absolutely don’t know what someone might be going though each day, and with remote work it is much harder to see the signs of someone ‘having a bad day’, so the micro validation might just be the one thing that adds some positivity and clarity on what they are doing that day (plus they’ll take that validation with them for days or weeks to come).

"You might just be the human who makes someone’s day"

So I know that some people can find ‘giving a compliment’ to be an uncomfortable experience, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes and you might just be the human who makes someone’s day. Shout out to all the colleagues and clients who have done this for me in the past and made a tricky day a significantly better one… this post is inspired by you all. Good job!