360 Feedback Blog

In this article the reader wonders how he can coax his manager to give him feedback.

Ah the reluctant feedback giver - we all know a few of these!

Our suggestion is: don’t ask for ‘feedback’! 

Some people have an aversion to what they think are management fads, or ‘management speak’, and ‘feedback’ may be one of these.  Other may even feel threatened by the whole idea as they may not be sure how to do it right.  It can be just as frightening to be asked for feedback as to get it!”

So what about just saying:

‘How am I doing’? ‘Is there anything I can do better, or differently?’ What would you like me to do more of?’ .  Even better, refer the question to the work you’re doing at the moment, so the feedback can be really specific: ‘What can I do better on the XYZ project?’

Another good approach is Start, Stop, Continue…..’What would you like me Start doing, Stop doing, Continue doing?’ . This lets the manager off the hook if they are a bit reluctant or nervous, and allows them to focus on real actions, behaviours and examples from work, projects, clients etc ….making the whole experience a better one for the individual and their manager.

Go to www.tracksurveys.co.uk and download more tips for How to Give Great Feedback, and What not to when Giving Great Feedback.

People Management 14 August 09

I don’t know about you out there, but I would love to understand exactly what these guys are going to learn, watching theatre people do things that really don’t relate to the banking environment whatsoever. Ok so the general concept of risk is the same, but surely the context
is completely different?

Without a strong awareness of their own behaviours and responses, and their effect on the people around them, in the context of the work they actually do, I really can’t see how this programme is going to achieve any real results or changed  behaviours for the participants.  I also wonder how the results are going to be measured?

It is ‘hoped’ that they will learn to ‘pick up’ on ways of giving feedback…..I should think this is the minimum requirement! Call me old-fashioned, but that doesn’t sound like a solid learning objective to me.

There’s a great quote from John Adair that comes to mind in the context of this article: ““You learn by doing and experience, and by developing an awareness and understanding. It’s simple but not easy”. Here’s the linking article.

Most Employers Are Ineffective at Supporting New Managers
A study by i4cp finds that most organizations don’t provide any measurement when transitioning employees to management for the first time. 

This has the effect of:

• Leaving new managers floundering and performing poorly

• The organisation with no data on their new managers’ current or anticipated skills

• No development or talent management plan

Scary.

But what’s even more scary is when this effect is multiplied around the organisation, with managers transitioning into new senior manager roles, and senior management moving up to board level. 

We would apply the 4 recommendations in the article to people at all critical transitions in their careers and their roles - give them clarity on what’s expected of them, evaluation and measurement before they begin their new role and regularly after that, 360s for a rounded assessment of management and leadership skills, and lots of training and support.

 Feedback can be learnt

Another point to remember is that vague, feelgood feedback doesn’t really help either.  It’s much more motivating to hear ‘Thanks for updating me on XYZ. Its really useful for me to know whats happening’, than ‘You’re a great guy, keep up the good work’.
Vague positive feedback, because its not specific, is unhelpful and can also sound insincere.