Why Is Feedback Important?Feedback started as a term used to describe the signals sent from a
rocket back to earth in order to determine the accuracy of the rocket’s
course. By tracking speed and trajectory, ground crews could determine
when and where to make corrections.At some point in time, the term Feedback was incorporated into
business language as a way to talk about performance. And, as in rocket
flight, it has been determined that the best way for a person to stay
“on course” is to assess where one stands at any given moment in
relation to the task or goal at hand. Here’s the really important point: The chances of impacting
performance increase with frequency and timeliness of feedback. That
implies the need for ongoing “How are we doing?” conversations. It’s
our best chance at knowing whether we’re on track or not.What Gets In The Way of Giving Feedback?1. Let’s face it: few of us enjoy hearing about those areas of
work life where we’re coming up short. It’s human nature. The flip side
is that managers are people, too, and they have the same thoughts and
feelings. So it’s not exactly a peak experience being the proverbial
“messenger” even though it comes with the job. 2. The term “feedback” has morphed into “Here’s what you need to correct” instead of “Here’s how I think we’re doing.”3. Feedback has been institutionalized to the point where it is
often done at yearly or semi-annual performance reviews. That’s usually
too far away from the actual performance for a person to make the kind
of changes that will alter an outcome. So it’s almost like a “Gotcha!”4. It takes a relationship built on trust to have meaningful conversations about performance. Trust comes from a series of interactions where people have made
agreements, talked about how things were going, and then lived up to
what they said they would do. And if something goes wrong, one person
points that out to the other. They talk about what to do differently.
And they learn that, even if something does go wrong, they care enough
to bring it up and do something about it. I’ve said this before: The
people you trust the most are the people who tell you the truth–good
and bad. If it’s good, they offer encouragement. If it’s bad, they
offer ways to work with you to sort things out. 5. Lack of ongoing, natural conversation about work life gets in the
way of building relationships that breed the level of trust we need to
have ongoing, natural conversations. It’s circular. What Can You Do About This?
1. Managers: Start the conversation from Day 1. Set the tone for the future early on by asking, “How are things
going with project x?” What didn’t we anticipate? What’s going well?
What isn’t going well, so we can find out how to get it on track?Then make sure that both of you do what you say you’ll do.2. Employees: If there isn’t a conversation, start one. Turn the questions in #1 into statements. For example, “Here’s how project x is going.” “Here’s what we didn’t anticipate.”Sure, maybe your boss doesn’t like bad news. Here’s a secret: Surprises are worse than bad news. If you start the conversation, you have a better chance of putting your boss at ease with the whole idea of “How are we doing?” 3. Keep talking about having conversations, not feedback. Language conveys feeling. The whole notion of feedback has
degenerated to the point where the word contains more negative
connotations than positive. Why? Maybe because it was never meant to be
associated with the human condition in the first place. From the time we’re kids we have conversations. We talk about “What’s going on” and “How are things going?” Start having ongoing “How are we doing?” conversations. Start now. I
absolutely guarantee you that two people of goodwill can increase their
combined performance and reduce their stress-inducing baggage by having
regular, honest talks about their progress and the factors impacting
it. These kinds of talks are the foundation of every good relationship,
on and off the job.Bonus Thought:The longer you wait, the larger the “negative” becomes and the more difficult it is to discuss. Regular, frequent conversations mean that the problem areas will be smaller and easier to talk about!
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Feedback: Why, What, and How
