Forging a Feedback Culture

When I ask employees of organisations that want to establish a feedback culture how they feel about giving feedback at work, the majority say they struggle; it’s uncomfortable, awkward, nerve-wracking even, especially if asked to give feedback upwards. Yet, in those same conversations, people say they are desperate for feedback that will help them to improve; and the more senior they are, the harder it is to get feedback that is useful to their personal development.

So why do people struggle to give feedback when there is clearly a need and a desire for it? What I hear is that it’s often anxiety over how a colleague will react, either to the feedback itself or to the person giving the feedback: What if my colleague becomes defensive, angry or upset? How will that affect our working relationship? And if it’s someone in a more senior position, how might that impact my career?

Of all forms of communication, feedback is perhaps the trickiest to give and to receive. Nobody likes to be caught off-guard by feedback, especially when we perceive it to be a personal slight or criticism, and it’s an instinctive human trait to want to defend ourselves. Yet these same human instincts are a useful resource, and learning to tune into them can help us to give and receive feedback in a way that improves performance and strengthens collaborative working relationships.

Organisationally, forging a feedback culture requires a mindset that promotes feedback as a normal part of daily conversations when people can respond and act on it, not something that gets saved up and delivered at a Performance Review a few months down the track.

In my experience, whilst skills building and practice are integral to an effective feedback culture, real progress happens when colleagues at every level of an organisation co-create an environment where people feel empowered to ask for and receive feedback in support of their own learning, and also give feedback in support of developing others.

 

Written by Jane Eames – Executive Coach and Facilitator