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Five Ways to Get Useful Feedback

FeedbackAll of us know about the importance of giving and receiving feedback.  If the goal is improved behavior or performance, effective and timely feedback is essential.  Most of what we read on this topic is focused on how to give feedback.  There is considerably less advice on how to get useful feedback from others.

Most of us are not well equipped to receive feedback in a way that encourages people to be truthful.  The person giving the feedback can easily be dissuaded from sharing the truth with you.  The difference between receiving qualified feedback versus unvarnished feedback is determined by your reactions to the person who is giving the feedback.  Without an honest assessment, it is difficult to change our personal behaviors that target our weaknesses.

Peter Bergman recently summarized some key actions that the receiver of feedback can take which will significantly increase the likelihood that the feedback will be useful.  According to Bergman, there are five ways that we can improve the way that we receive feedback.

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How can we increase creativity and engagement?

Many ideasHave you ever been a victim of this circumstance?

Senior leadership issues a clarion call for new ideas.  “We need to generate more revenue!”  Or more likely, “Our costs are too high and we want your input on how to cut our expenses!”  But this is not just any request to submit some ideas into a suggestion box or idea database.  Instead, there is a sense of urgency and perhaps even an expectation that every person contributes.  Groups across the organization are assembled for brainstorming sessions. Perhaps edicts are issued.  “No one can leave the room unless they submit at least 5 ideas.”

What’s the outcome of these sessions?  Often it is disappointing.  Sure, the quantity of ideas is impressive.  But what about the quality?  The same recycled ideas are offered, with nothing offered outside existing paradigms. Continue Reading

Fear! Social phobias can cripple talented people

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”   ―     Eleanor Roosevelt

 

fearAll of us have a fear of some kind.  It is only a matter of what causes our fear and to what degree we are affected.  We are acutely aware of the presence of these fears in our lives.  As leaders, we should also be mindful of potential fears as we encourage others to engage in learning, self-discovery, and continuous improvement.  The following story brought this to life for me.

 

I was working with a group and helping them to learn how to use a structured approach for leading a project team.  One of the elements of using this specific approach (Rapid Action) is that the team leader and all the team members take turns reading aloud a script that walks them through the process.  While unorthodox, it has proven to be a very effective method for getting everyone engaged and in using basic project management techniques.  As the three-day workshop was winding down, one of the participants came forward and wanted to speak with me privately.

Clarence was an operator who had signed up for the class with the intent of using this method to work on a problem with a small team.  I had noticed that he was not participating in the class exercises and I wanted to speak to him about this anyway.  His body language clearly indicated that he was uncomfortable.  I soon learned why Clarence was not engaged.  It was fear.  As he spoke, his words came out in halting phrases…

“I just…just wanted to let…you know that…I really…really want to do this…but…but…I have problems with…with reading…in front of people…and…and…I’m not sure…that…that I can do this,” Clarence stuttered.

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Do you find Joy in your work?

JoyIt’s a sad truth about the workplace: Just 30% of employees are actively committed to doing a good job.

According to Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace report, 50% of employees merely put their time in, while the remaining 20% act out their discontent in counterproductive ways.  These employees are negatively influencing their coworkers, missing days on the job, and driving customers away through poor service. Gallup estimates that the 20% group alone costs the U.S. economy around half a trillion dollars each year.

What’s the reason for the widespread employee disengagement? According to Gallup, poor leadership is a key cause.

Richard Sheridan, Founder of Menlo Innovations, describes an antidote for this lack of enthusiasm.  He claims that “joy” is what is missing from the workplace.  In a recent interview, Sheridan spoke about some of the ways that he purposely designed joy into the way that people work.

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How can I help? The primary question of a servant leader

Help is on the way

“How can I help?”

In what situation are you likely to hear someone ask this question?  Perhaps an associate in a retail clothing store would use this phrase to offer some assistance.  You could hear this phrase from a librarian while  looking for a book or reference.  Maybe you have called a customer service number to ask about a recent purchase.

However, would you expect your manager to inquire, “How can I help?”  when you walked into his or her office?  I wouldn’t.

Equally important, do you use this question as the opening for many of the discussions with your co-workers or those who report to you? Upon reflection, I only occasionally offered these words to my direct reports during the course of my career.

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Four Ways to Promote Curiosity and Learning

CuriosityWhat are you curious about?  Do you have a hobby or avocation that captures your interest?  Is there an activity where you willingly devote many hours of your time without any kind of extrinsic reward or compensation?  Most of us can think of something that meets one of these criteria.

We know from experience that we find it easier to learn when the topic is something about which we have a curiosity. Avid hunters can go into great detail about their firearms, ammunition, and strategies for tracking game.  Imagine if we sent one of these hunters to a seminar to learn the latest information about these topics – and then quizzed them on what they learned.  We would be astonished at what they remembered.

Likewise, we could do the same thing with a baseball enthusiast. This person would relish the opportunity to further their understanding of the game at a convention where like-minded fans are gathered.  Their retention of new baseball-related knowledge would be equally impressive.

But what if we sent the hunter to the baseball convention and the baseball fan(atic) to an outdoor show?  We could predict that their respective recalls of any new information would be significantly less.  Why?  In this case, neither individual is intrinsically motivated to learn. (They are not excited to learn just for the sake of learning). Continue Reading