Feedback: Love It or Hate It - We All Need It
Sidewalk sandwich board sign with arrows pointing to awesome and less awesome
When was the last time you received or delivered meaningful feedback? No matter which side of the situation you were on, how did it feel? On the receiving end, maybe you felt deflated. If delivering the feedback, maybe it felt awkward. What is it about this normal part of professional development that evokes such anxiety?
The value of feedback
From my career coaching experience, I have learned that providing guidance to both the receiver and the deliverer can make the entire feedback situation more helpful and contribute to improved performance and communication. A recent episode of The Hidden Brain series on National Public Radio inspired this blog. The truth about honesty. Although the title related to being honest, the message trickled down to why feedback can be so difficult to receive and/or deliver.
The term itself – feedback - often makes people think in a negative context. No one likes to be told – it isn’t good enough; you can do better. Without feedback, though, we fail to get better at what we do. It is an essential part of professional growth and development.
My own experience with meaningful, yet devastating, feedback was in graduate school, on two separate occasions. The first was early in the program and I delivered a nutrition workshop to school nurses (most of them with years of experience) and I completely missed the boat – I hadn’t done sufficient homework about the audience nor prepared clear learning objectives. The post-workshop evaluations were scathing. I felt this crushing sense of failure and wondered if I had the ability to be an effective educator. The other feedback that temporarily paralyzed me was when my faculty advisor returned the first draft of my master’s degree thesis. There were big red X’s across page after page, not because the content was poor; however my writing style was not of graduate school caliber. Talk about humiliation. Both situations catapulted me into a downward spiral of questioning my ability, and then reflecting on how to fix the problems. The point of sharing these painful memories is that I needed the honest feedback, as ego deflating as it was, and I learned some important lessons that shaped my own professional development and successes.
Why do we need feedback?
Whether the feedback relates to your job performance or written work, it is intended to elevate your performance to a higher level. More specifically, feedback can inspire professional growth and result in changed behaviors.
How to seek and receive feedback
That’s right – seek it out. As the coordinated graduate program director for soon-to-be RDs/RDNs, one of the orientation sessions I held with new interns was on feedback – how to ask for it, how to receive it and how to turn it into a teachable moment.
Here are tips for being on the receiving end of feedback:
Ask for it.
Be open to it.
Reflect on it.
Act on it.
Express gratitude for it.
Even if the feedback might sometimes feel like a gut punch, think about why you are receiving it. Own it and develop a plan for moving forward. I find Driscoll’s model of continuous reflection a useful approach to processing feedback. Here are the questions to ask yourself:
What was the feedback related to (what happened and didn’t go so well);
So what (why does it matter; what did I do to contribute to the situation and how did it impact my performance or the team effort); and,
Now what (what will I do differently next time – this is your action step moving forward.)
How to give feedback
Leadership has an obligation to provide feedback. In my role as the program director of the coordinated graduate program in dietetics at the University of Vermont I coached preceptors on the importance of providing regular feedback to the interns, even daily if that was possible; highlighting what the intern did well and what needed some refinement. The greater the frequency of delivering feedback, the less intimidating the process will seem to the recipients, in this case the interns, and there is more opportunity to provide positive feedback.
Here are some tips on providing feedback:
Be specific by focusing on the problem or situation.
Focus on the behavior that needs correction.
Deliver it regularly – both positive and negative.
Be timely and deliver it as soon as possible after the situation occur
By providing feedback on a regular basis, it normalizes the process. It can become more comfortable to deliver it and result in employees feeling less threatened by it.
One note on providing positive feedback, it is still important to be specific. Rather than just saying “you did a great job on that task”, state what the recipient did well to earn the praise. For example, “you did a really great job completing that task. You were thorough in addressing all aspects of the project and provided clear details regarding the next steps required.” That extra content makes the feedback more meaningful to the recipient.
Final thoughts about feedback
To sum it all up, feedback in the workplace is essential. If you aren't getting it, ask for it and act on it.
What have been some of your experiences with providing and/or receiving feedback? How did it contribute to your professional growth?
For more tips on how to create a culture of normalcy with respect to feedback, reach out for our career coaching.