Annual reviews, quarterly reviews or even monthly reviews are not enough for performance improvement or engagement. This is where informal feedback is very helpful to fill the gap. Feedback in general provokes change, fuels growth, connects to a sense of purpose, increases employee engagement and nurtures healthy working relationships.
There are main areas to consider when receiving feedback:
Avoiding missed opportunities
Unveiling blindspots
Avoid missed opportunities by having your peers or colleagues talk to you about leveraging your strengths. Ask trusted colleagues, "what can I do better to grow?" When you do ask, make sure to ask for specific detailed information, in terms of developmental areas that are important to you. Communicating clearly will go a long way.
We don’t know what we don’t know and we don’t know how others perceive us. Unveiling blindspots allows us to know the unknown. Once we know how others perceive us, we can begin to build our leadership identity. This helps us to align our intentions with perceptions consistently.
How do you receive feedback?
With Growth mindset versus fixed mindset
With Curiosity
Receiving feedback for the sake of growing. You may have heard the saying, “This is how I am, take it or leave it.” This phrase may be helpful in different contexts such as creating boundaries for oneself, not so much in developing oneself. Growth mindset is about small changes that make you better. Having the growth mindset impacts how you receive feedback. It may disarm you, taking the feedback as a valuable share.
Curious questions can sound like this: “Can you tell me more?” or asking for specific expectations. For example, you gave a presentation, and your colleague did not like it. Asking curious questions such as:
What information would have been helpful for you?
Was the pace too fast or too slow?
Was the message clear to you?
Don’t wait for the formal scheduled feedback. Ask for informal feedback often. Feedback is a tool, perspective and an opinion to help you get better. This conversation is a two-way street that builds each other. One can always improve on giving and receiving feedback.