7 Feedback Channels All Leaders Should Tune Into

Morning Leaders,

I have been working through some skip levels at the moment and wanted to call out how much value I get from them. It really provides a platform for me to connect with folks I don’t speak to regularly and hear the things that are going well and not so well.

Got me thinking about feedback and why it is so valuable to us in order to help us evaluate what’s working and what’s not working.

If we’re committing resources and energy into the wrong areas, feedback gives us the sign that we should adjust our approach.

When we’re delivering a presentation to an audience, feedback from our peers or our mentors helps us improve and deliver a better presentation next time.

As Leaders, we all have blind spots and things we didn’t even consider a challenge for our people or our customers. Perspective is incredible.

As Les Brown would say:

Feedback is your personal and organisation’s most valuable asset on the journey to excellence. Feedback, whether it’s positive or critical, tells you what you’re doing well and what you’re not doing so well.

Feedback is critical to our success.

So today I wanted to share with you 7 channels that you should consider tuning into to get a better overview of things that you’re doing well and the opportunities that exist to do better.

7 Valuable Feedback Channels

1) Your Leader - once you and your leader have identified some areas of focus, ensure you’re both aligned and the feedback is shared regularly. Your leader was probably in your position a few years previously so will be familiar with some of the obstacles and hurdles that you’ll be facing and they will be able to provide good feedback and perspective on how to overcome them. They can also look for stretch opportunities for you to work on developing your skills.

2) Your Team - set the expectation with the team that in the next team meeting you want to spend 30-45 mins discussing any challenges the team is facing. The meeting should be to collectively and constructively discuss what is troubling the group and brainstorm some potential solutions to mitigate the pain the team is currently experiencing.

3) Your Customers - if you get a complaint or a low Customer Satisfaction survey, don’t just read the email or review the ticket and make an assessment. Pick up the phone and speak to the customer to understand where their pain is, get their perspective. I have learned so much from speaking to customers following a complaint and quite often it’s been a series of misses previously which has lead to them kicking off over a much smaller inconvenience. Hear it straight from the horse’s mouth as the saying goes.

4) Feedback Support Bubble - identify 2 or 3 trusted allies who you work with regularly or are in the same meetings as you, that can be your feedback bubble. They should be trusted individuals who will be honest and open with the feedback with the right spirit and intent. Let them know what you’re working on and ask them to observe you during meetings or interactions and have them share any feedback that will help you grow.

5) Skip Levels - if these are not taking place already, encourage your Leader to set up individual meetings or group meetings with your team, without you of course. A good framework of questions for the meetings between your leader and a direct report is Start, Stop and Continue.

Start - what are we not doing that we should start doing?

Stop - what are we doing which we should stop doing?

Continue - what’s working well in the team? What do you want to see more of?

6) Team Member - at the end of your next 1 to 1 ask your team member to think of some feedback to share with you in your next 1 to 1. Ask them for 1 or 2 things that you do well and they like, and then 1 or 2 things that they would like you to focus on improving. Let them know you’re looking for them to be open and honest as this is really important for you to have a transparent relationship and also be aware of what areas you need to improve on. If you have done a good job establishing a trusting meaningful relationship, they should be comfortable sharing any critical feedback. If you don’t have the right relationship or it’s quite new, I would focus on this first.

One sample question for you:

7) Engagement Surveys - these provide a high level of how the leader and organisation are doing. Some folks are also not comfortable sharing critical feedback directly so this provides a platform for them and also for you to gather valuable feedback. Consider engagement surveys that can be submitted anonymously on a bi-annual basis. We can learn a lot through these across the organisation on what’s working well and what’s not.

Feedback is a gift and if used in the right way can accelerate improvements in you, your team, and across your organisation. It truly is a competitive advantage and a way to stand out if you make the adjustments from the valuable data. Those people who do not survey their customers or people are missing a trick to learn and become better.

All the best,

David

Resources Of The Week

• Tool - Implicit Assessments - According to Harvard University, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. It is designed to reveal attitudes or assumptions you make on a daily basis. Some good tools to reflect on any unconscious biases you may have.

• Tool - Winning List - take a copy of this template and start documenting all your major achievements. Each win is like a positive reinforcement credit that you are winning. Use this as a springboard and benchmark that you’re doing alright. You will have some periods in your career where you doubt yourself and feel discouraged, use this as a positive reflection tool of how far you have come to stamp out any doubt in your ability. You got this.

• YouTube Video - David Goggins - Being a Leader. David discusses his experience of being a leader, and why he continues to need to live the example to everyone else.

Quote of the Week

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