By Costin Ciora, Consultant Change Management Practitioner Certified Professional TriMetrix Analys
The term “feedback” is very used today in many organizations as well as in our personal life. It’s not uncommon to hear frequently “Can I give you a feedback?”. But, in many situations the term became a negative one, and the main reason is that it is used for negative circumstances.
“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
Elon Musk So, in this article I want to share with you 3 ideas to use feedback to boost productivity of your team:
1. THE QUALITY OF THE FEEDBACK
Feedback shouldn’t be used only for negative remarks or things that the team member should improve. It’s also needed in situations where the performance is high. It’s normal to have a clear need of understanding if your actions meet the manager’s expectations, so it’s quite comforting when you actually receive it. That’s the same for your team. By making the feedback also in positive situations you reinforce the learning culture that you want to develop. Being opened to receiving yourself feedback from your team would mean that you open the communication channel and you get yourself opportunities for growth.
2. THE FREQUENCY OF FEEDBACK
I’m not a strong believer in formal feedback. I believe that frequent and informal feedback sets the foundation for improvement. In formal settings, there is the risk for strong reactions to feedback. Moreover, feedback should also be done in one-on-one meetings. A feedback in a team meeting could be received with shape, guilt or aggressive reaction towards defending and lack of openness.
3. FLEXIBLE COMMUNICATION
There are many models that you can use for a structured feedback process. But, in many instances it all comes to more flexible communication and adapting the message to the profile of your team members. In this way, your message will be better understood and then, could be put into action. By being more flexible and empathic towards others we can provide useful feedback for improvement. And this exercise will make ourselves more open-minded. “When we make progress and get better at something, it is inherently motivating.
In order for people to make progress, they have to get feedback and information on how they’re doing.” – Daniel Pink In feedback you can start with the process in mind and look at the formal part of the entire activity or start with the end in mind and look at the results of feedback. Starting with the end in mind will make feedback more useful for your team. And thus, as feedback becomes a norm and a habit inside the team from yourself to team and from them to you, and why not even between them, it will reinforce the learning culture of the team and will boost team’s productivity. Efficient feedback will make team members focus more on team results versus individual results.
Acest material a fost publicat in Revista HR Manager, numărul 62, ediția octombrie-decembrie 2019.
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