Have you asked your teams for feedback lately? How would you react if they gave it, warts and all? Could you cope with whole-team feedback fallout?
Do these questions make you shudder with discomfort?!
For as long as we’re working in teams and not flying completely solo, we need other people’s feedback to progress and grow. It’s a critical reality check and a vital part of professional development. But it can be a jagged pill to swallow when what you see in the ‘professional you’ mirror doesn’t match how you apparently show up at work every day. Worse still, thousands of people spend decades at work blissfully unaware of their impact on others.
What a lost opportunity.
Many major and minor interpersonal conflicts could be avoided if we were more self-aware. The tricky part is, we’re not trained as a society to give feedback (if only interpersonal skills, team dynamics and empathy were higher on the school curriculum!).
Too often at work, reviews, appraisals and full-on 360 feedback are an uncomfortable and misunderstood experience. Self-esteem can plummet, colleagues can become disheartened, defensive and disengaged, and the whole process might just open a can of very unsettled worms.
Receiving feedback doesn’t have to be like that
Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett recently posted on LinkedIn about the Gymshark founder Ben Francis and his positive experience of 360-degree feedback and the impact on his self-awareness.
Within an hour the post had attracted over 65 comments. Within two weeks, it grew to over 220 comments. People are drawn to this subject, because it affects us all. And, of course, we secretly love to criticise other people’s behaviour, happily ignoring the fact that that our own actions might be the culprit in many a conflict…
But on a personal level, most of us are slightly afraid of feedback. If it’s not a compliment, we don’t really want to hear it.
As we know, self-awareness is THE key to good relationships. And, as the LinkedIn comments highlighted, self-awareness is a foundation for good leadership at work.
With 360 feedback, as the comments also pointed out, a lot depends on how the process is initiated and communicated, and whether the recipient takes ownership of the cause of others’ perceptions of them.
Feedback is a gift. No one is perfect, and with empathetic guidance, everyone is capable of flexing their style and behaviour to create more harmonious relationships at work.
We’d go as far as saying that delivering, acting on and managing behavioural feedback in organisations remains one of the greatest workplace challenges of today. The most highly skilled teams in the world can still be beset by difficult relationships.
Feedback should focus on preferences and behaviour, not competencies
At Insights, we’re in the business of helping people understand themselves and others. We teach people to work better together, and feedback is an important part of that.
We believe in using non-confrontational language and providing a psychologically safe platform (and culture) to give people a platform to openly discuss challenging subjects.
What makes the Insights approach to 360s different to most traditional 360 feedback models is that it has psychological safety firmly built in. We focus entirely on people’s personal preferences, behaviour and work styles, not on competencies (e.g. the ability to strategise or manage time).
The outcome here is likely to bring healthier conversations, improved team relationships, and better communication and collaboration by individuals who feel heard and understood, and who are likely to become more effective at work.
We choose to facilitate feedback in a safe, trusted, credible setting - delivered by experts in interpersonal communication. Colleagues get to explore their strengths and weaknesses, and the impact these have on their working relationships and team endeavours. They learn about their blind spots (and how they might overcome theme) without needing to feel shame or threat.
At Insights we do this through Insights Discovery Full Circle, a 360 feedback tool based on the same principles as Insights Discovery, with significant additions and learning opportunities. It works for leaders, managers and all levels.
Don't confuse feedback with judgment. Useful feedback is non-judgmental
The power to see ourselves as others see us is transformative. But we need to handle (and give) feedback without judgment.
Using the Insights language of colour energy (we each lead in our behaviour with one or two of four colour energies), we can remove judgment from our conversations. By this we mean both the feedback conversations themselves AND the way we choose to interact with our colleagues in future. The over-use of one colour energy can be quickly mitigated, once the learner has awareness of it.
Facilitators who deliver Insights Discovery Full Circle are trained to give open (not anonymous), non-judgmental feedback. Empathy, active listening and self-awareness are high in their own personal traits, as well as an all-important understanding of the recipient’s preferred communication style.
Using the common language of colour energy makes this very do-able.
Unlike other feedback models, this is not an assessment or a skills and competencies review. It’s not designed to decimate someone’s personality. It's about how our peers perceive us. Do they view us as more introverted or extroverted? Do they think we lean towards the Thinking or Feeling functions when making decisions? Does it match what we think of ourselves?
No-one’s leading colour energy, or introverted or extroverted behaviour preference, is right or wrong. It’s all about understanding ourselves and our colleagues better, flexing to suit and being willing to make personal adjustments, however alien they may at first seem.
The most important thing we can learn from hearing others’ perceptions of us is that we have a choice to dial up and down different ways of behaving with different colleagues and situations. Although it might seem to us that our built-in default responses can’t be changed (especially when we feel under threat or pressure), they can.
And of course, not all feedback is negative! Varying perceptions of our personality are just as likely to lead to positive realisations.
“I always thought I was demanding at work (Fiery Red on a bad day), but turns out my reports see me as diplomatic (Earth Green on a good day)”
“I was afraid I was getting too bogged down in analysis when I was stressed (Cool Blue on a bad day), but my reports actually perceive me as more collaborative than I thought I was (Sunshine Yellow on a good day)”
“I always saw myself as high in Earth Green energy, but my boss sees me as leading with Cool Blue. I didn’t realise I was being so formal with her.”
Most of all, the Insights approach to 360 feedback is about finding practical ways improving and optimising relationships with others. All of us at work, given the choice, would welcome a non-threatening and positive framework for discussing personal and team development.
Here, the recipient gains an understanding of how their behaviour is perceived by all types of colleagues, including admired aspects as well as development areas. There’s ample room for safe and constructive conversations about all aspects of the feedback they’ve received and how past behaviour can inform how they choose to move forward and be happier at work – and teamwork!
A general note for feedback-givers, with or without Insights
- Know (and adapt to) the recipient’s preferred communication style and work style. Do they appreciate direct, concise feedback, or favour a more gentle, nurturing approach?
- Keep your language neutral and remain objective
- Focus on their behaviour, not their character or skill
- Avoid potential unconscious personal bias
- Offer examples of behaviour, how it was perceived and how it affected team members/the project
- Encourage the recipient to own the cause of others’ perceptions
- Ensure that the feedback focused on areas a person can control
Feedback means growth
Opening ourselves up to feedback is an act of courage and shouldn’t be painful. In an ideal world, everyone would welcome feedback and want to learn and improve from it. In the real world, where not everyone wants to learn or improve and where not everyone can accept how others perceive them, we need to handle feedback with high levels of humanity, care and attention
Feedback, whether positive or corrective, contributes to better self-awareness and more effective teamwork and leadership. It highlights areas for improvement and reinforces strengths. Feedback isn’t just about pointing out flaws; it’s about fostering personal growth.
So, could it be time to explore whether your organisation is ready for healthy, non-judgmental feedback? Does it have a positive learning culture and the communication culture to embrace a 360 experience? If you’re looking for more connected teams, this could be where it starts!
Studies have long shown the link between feedback and performance. But feedback brings its own challenges and is sometimes met with apprehension. Discovery Full Circle is the answer. A safe and supportive 360-degree feedback experience, this programme helps people gain a deeper understanding of themselves and how others see them. Employees develop the awareness to consciously adapt their working and communication style, resolving bottlenecks and improving performance.
