LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS
Feedback as Opportunity
Hello Sheeba,
We all know that feedback is an essential part of any relationship, most especially in the workplace. When feedback is positive, it helps us feel confident and capable, and let's us know that we are valued.
How about when feedback is constructive?
Constructive feedback can be so much harder to take. It can often leave us feeling put down or even defensive. Even more so when we are in a leadership role. When you are dedicated to management and juggling several balls at once, any indication that you could be doing better or maybe aren't doing enough can sure feel like an attack. That's a very natural and human response.
However, I challenge you to flip the record of how you perceive feedback. If every bit of feedback you receive, positive or constructive, leads you to see an opportunity for growth, you will become a stronger leader. Dr. Don Powell of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine offers this list of questions to ask the next time you are presented with constructive feedback:
Does the feedback seem reasonable? Is there some truth to what was said? Perhaps you should pay attention to the remark.
Have I been given the same feedback by other people on the same issue? If so, maybe it warrants attention.
Does the person providing the feedback know what he or she is talking about? If he or she is a self-appointed critic-at-large, ignore the remark.
Was the remark really directed at me, or was the critic venting general frustration, anger, or bitterness at something over which I have no control? If negative feedback stems from general dissatisfaction, let it slide. Resist the impulse to defend yourself.
Is the criticism based on a difference of opinion? If so, don’t overreact, but open your mind and welcome a longer discussion about your team member's frustrations.
When you apply this type of critical thinking before becoming emotional, you will begin to see feedback as an opportunity rather than something threatening or offensive. Therefore, the next time you hear feedback - especially any comment that suggests you could be doing better - be sure and reference these questions, so that you can curb your reaction, act accordingly, and ultimately, improve as a leader.
COACHING QUESTIONS
- What are some ways that you can use (specific constructive feedback) to improve?
- What feedback do you tend to hear again and again?
- Seeing feedback as opportunity, how can you reframe the feedback that you give your team to be most effective?
Employee reviews should be happening more often, while taking less time to complete. When performance reviews happen often it increases employee engagement, reduces turnover, and increases company productivity.
GROUP MENTOR COACHING
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LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
Bazeley Boyz
A group of five boys and one girl - all between 11 and 14-years-old - who live on Bazeley Avenue in Millview, Massachusetts have taken it upon themselves to help their neighbors in need.
It all started when a couple of the boys decided to help their elderly neighbor shovel the snow from his driveway. Soon, however, as they noticed that more and more of their neighbors could use a some help as well, they added more members to their little group, and in no time, the group of friends were grabbing their shovels and ice melt after every snowfall!
And the assistance doesn't stop there. Their neighborhood now knows that if they need their trash taken out or a little odd job completed, they can always rely on the Bazeley Boyz to lend a hand.
Despite many offers, the boys (and girl) have always declined payment for their work, but they do take pride in the sign that their neighbors have erected that reads, "Thank you Bazeley Boyz!"
With their big work ethic and even bigger hearts, the Bazeley Boyz are definitely a fantastic example of what we hope the future of leadership will be!
LEADERSHIP RESOURCE
If you have ever struggled to give feedback to your team, here is some advice from professional leaders around feedback that might help you:
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Patty McCord, creator of Netflix’s famed Culture Doc: (delivery of feedback) “Practice is crucial for honing your delivery
style. You can do it in front of a mirror or with your spouse or a friend. Actually rehearsing what you’ll say, out loud, allows you to hear the tone of your voice. You might even want to record yourself.“
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Katie Dill, VP of Design at Lyft: (transformative feedback) “When you’re the critic coming in to offer a second opinion, you have the chance to zoom out and look at the forest for the trees and thing about the system as a whole.”
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Michael Lopp, VP Engineering : (feedback around performance issues) “There are two problems with how PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans) are used. First is that you should want to fix something as soon as you see it go wrong, not at the very end of a long, slow decline. And second, you can’t just throw a switch and fix everything. It’s not just one conversation. It’s a lot of little things that need to be addressed over months, every day, every hour."
Sheeba Varghese is a Professional Certified Coach, speaker, and mentor to many. Her passion is to inspire and equip men and women to lead with excellence and authenticity within the spheres of influences that they are called to impact in life. The spheres may be in a home, on a team, in a classroom, among partners in a firm, or within management, to name a few.
In her time apart from clients, Sheeba enjoys time with her husband, Santosh, and their 2 sons, Sam and Steven. She loves great movies, a good book, decorating and eating at the wonderful restaurants of San Francisco.
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