By Amanam Uko
...For managers, CEOs or whatever nomenclature you bear.
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The only way any of us can know all of the areas we can improve on is if we are open to feedback from others. As Bill Gates said that, “We all need people who will give us feedback. That is how we improve.” We can make that valuable feedback available from others if and only if we create the atmosphere that allows others to be comfortable giving it.
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I’ve come to understand that the way you handle feedback tells a lot about your character and being able to learn from both positive and negative feedback. It is also an important part of personal development. Here is an insight; working with my current boss for some time, I realised that inasmuch as she has her own views concerning the wellbeing of the organization, she’ll still ask for a report. “Amanam, mail me a report this night…” Most at times, I’ll be as blank as to what I can put together that will make sense. At one point I replied, “Ma’am, my head is empty, I can’t even think.” One hour into the thinking process, I began to scribble things I only hoped will make sense to someone else.
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The point is that though feedbacks such as this helps in improving the business process and client experience, it also gives me, as a team member the platform to learn and make decisions that affects the future of the organization. This to me leads to active participation at work. Reason is that without a feedback channel, people tend to start self-regulating and often end up being much more critical towards the work they do. To a greater extent, by providing feedback, a manager is essentially providing more guidance for the subordinate.
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#Posers:
What can you say to your employees and how can you say it?
Where can you give and receive feedback?
How can you bring out the best in your staff or subordinates?
How do you handle difficult issues without inflaming the situation?
How do you respond to negative feedback yourself?
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Giving feedback to someone on areas they can improve is already uncomfortable for the person who is going to give it. It’s never fun for anyone to deliver news to someone that they know might cause the other person to be upset or feel bad. I’ve found myself in situations whereby even with close friends, I just have to hold back giving anything but the positive feedback because I don’t want to feel that level of discomfort that comes from offering suggestions on how they should improve. This first of all stems from the person who has this overbearing attitude that doesn’t give room for people to offer suggestions. But sadly, if I don’t share those suggestions, then the person will miss out on the opportunity to improve and become the very best he can be.
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That’s why the onus lies on the shoulders of the person who is asking for feedback to create an atmosphere that lets people feel comfortable sharing it. They can do that by showing they are truly open to suggestions when listening intently while the other person speaks and then really considering what the other person is saying without jumping to conclusions or shutting them down. The second the person seeking the feedback gets defensive or cuts the other person off they will shut them down from talking further and thus the valuable feedback doesn’t get heard and the ability to improve is hindered.
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Not only does it shut down the person who was trying to give feedback, it makes everyone else observing the situation also to stop and think twice before opening their own mouths with feedback in fear they too will be rejected, or even worse, made to feel disrespected. The chances of any valuable feedback coming forth in other scenarios becomes defeated.
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On the flip side, we can all appreciate that taking feedback from others is hard, especially if you are asking for feedback on something you have worked really hard on and have emotionally exhausted yourself with before you even begin asking for feedback. That’s why all of us, before we ever ask for the feedback to be given, have to take an emotional step back and really gear ourselves up to be open to hearing what others are going to tell us.
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As a manager, allowing opportunities for feedback helps in clarifying the person’s position in the organization. With regular feedback, it is much easier to clarify the person’s role and to ensure they are aware of the tasks and responsibilities of the job.
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Now, you can try this by saying within you: “I want this feedback. I need this feedback. I’m going to go in there and show them that I’m listening to their feedback and that I appreciate it, even if it hurts a little to hear it, because that is how I’m going to ultimately become the best I can be; for myself and for the sake of the organization. I can do this!!!”It may sound silly, but sometimes that’s exactly the kind of thing I have to do to help me get into the right frame of mind, and if doing it helps us to create that atmosphere that will generate feedback, then I say do it!
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So finally, one of feedback culture’s strengths is the ability to solve problems. If you have a project coming up, it is better to continuously evaluate the effort and see what works and what doesn’t, rather than go through the project first and then analyze what worked. Small problems in your team’s satisfaction (requesting for feedback) could quickly turn into a bigger problem. As the old saying goes, “it’s better to fix the roof while the sun is shining.”
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