Workplace Feedback

Has it become the corporate ‘f-word’?

In our pursuit to encourage feedback we have somehow turned it into a formal, anxiety-inducing process.

I remember when discussions around performance and growth happened naturally, without the weight of frameworks, models and forms.

I recently read an article that suggested re-branding asking for feedback as 'asking for advice'. But would we just be swapping one loaded term for another?

I wonder if we have focused so much on supporting people to ‘say the right thing’ during feedback conversations, that in-turn, we have been distracted from creating the rest of the environment needed to help people learn, test their limits, get uncomfortable and feel safe enough to both fail and succeed.

What if we returned to simple ‘feedback’ and regained some of the time and energy utilised there, and directed it towards what else is needed to foster a culture of growth?  

Adam Grant an Organisational Psychologist, on requesting feedback from someone interviewing him, asked 2 simple questions. “How would you rate this experience out of 100?” Followed by, “What’s needed for you to give a score of 100?. This is a great, simple way to start a growth orientated conversation. Or another alternative to dropping the F-Bomb could be asking:

·       Are needs/expectations/results being met?

·       What would be on the ‘wish list’ to enhance the situation?

I like the concept of asking for a persons ‘wish list’, as it creates a positive environment for both parties involved. It also infers that not every suggestion will be appropriate or feasible to action at that time, helping to remove some of the pressure we may feel when we can’t action suggestions given during feedback.

Or, is ‘Wish List’ just another loaded term?

What would be your top 2 ways to foster a culture of growth and learning?