On Feedback

Providing more active, routine forms of feedback is on the most powerful developmental and performance practices in any organization. I see this through all my diverse clients-educators, athletes, business and law enforcement units. I also have the workplace experience from my corporate leadership roles to back that up.

Unfortunately, most organizations are stuck in a decades, if not centuries old practice of providing sparse or mis timed feedback. Often leaders wait till the monthly 1:1 or even worse, the 6 or 12 month performance review. Time lapses and the impact is diminished.

We are in a fast paced, dynamic, rapidly changing world, yet not providing sufficient constructive or encouraging forms of increased feedback.

Let’s also be clear on “complaining”, which is is essence another form of feedback. Unless you have trained your organization in strategies on how to provide feedback and have built that into the culture, statements of “no complaining” is a mistake. Yes, I get that chronic complaining or mis framed complaining is misguided, even toxic and that form of complaining needs to be redirected (through feedback).

There is a movement within best in class organizations to leverage greater forms of feedback, however small or large AND they are seeing in their results.

Become one of those best in class organizations. Don’t just make statements around feedback (or complaining). Rather, teach and reinforce the value of increasing levels of well timed feedback.