There are plenty of reasons leaders may feel hesitant to give feedback, from misconceptions that feedback is reserved for negative situations or reserving it for infrequent review meetings. But used to its full potential, a robust feedback system is beneficial or everyone, from entry-level employees to leaders in the C-Suite.
Melissa Nelson, chief learning and development officer at Chicago-based law firm Levenfeld Pearlstein, has approached feedback as an ever-evolving tool to boost growth. She shares her tips for rethinking feedback systems, the importance of executive coaching and how to tackle difficult conversations.
What are some myths about workplace feedback?
There is a common misconception that feedback is always negative or that it is criticism (whether constructive or not). But feedback can be positive too. In fact, people need plenty of positive feedback to be effective. Another common feedback myth is that, as a performance management tool, feedback should focus on past actions and occur once a year, or on some predetermined and typically infrequent basis. However, research shows that real-time feedback is four times more effective at facilitating workplace engagement.
How is rethinking feedback programs and systems beneficial for everyone?
Feedback is a powerful tool for fostering employee development and growth. To maximize its effectiveness, it’s essential to take a flexible approach and tailor feedback systems to meet individuals where they are, acknowledging that their needs are constantly evolving. This balancing act can be challenging because everyone is different. Rather than implementing a rigid, firmwide system, it’s more meaningful to individualize feedback to enhance growth and development.
It’s essential to ask for feedback about how we ask for feedback and use that information to adjust processes, so they aren’t too burdensome or create obstacles to implementation. When developing feedback systems, sit in the shoes of every person who interacts with the process. What is their experience? How do we make it easier to give feedback? How do we make it easier to receive feedback? Who is the best person to deliver difficult feedback to this person? What additional support can we provide? How do we educate our workforce and motivate people with a million other things on their plates to take the time to provide feedback? Posing these questions helps us develop processes, procedures and support systems that can help the feedback process achieve its goal, which is to help foster growth and development.
What is the role of professional coaching for executive leadership and beyond?
Professional coaching is imperative. Leadership positions are incredibly complex and constantly changing. Coaches help professionals with years of experience recognize blind spots and adjust behaviors that may have brought success earlier in their career but are no longer helpful or relevant to success in their current role. For instance, a more independent approach of “putting your head down and grinding out work” may be helpful early in a person’s career, but as they advance into leadership positions, a more collaborative approach that builds consensus and trusting relationships is necessary. There are often no “right” answers in business or leadership—and coaches don’t claim that there are—but coaches can help leaders navigate fear and uncertainty to discover their voice, direction and path as a leader.
How can organizations help their talent engage in difficult conversations?
Meet people where they are. Any difficult conversation comes with risk. It is easy to be consumed by fear that the risk-benefit analysis is too heavy on the risk side because the conversation could hurt the relationship or won’t make a difference. But within the conversation there is also the opportunity to improve the relationship. When you help someone change in ways they might not have been able to see for themselves, they know you care about them and can trust you to tell them the truth. By engaging in a difficult conversation, you can be perceived as someone who cares for others, does hard things for your team members and mentors other people.
When having difficult conversations, it’s essential to provide safe spaces for people to be vulnerable and ask for help. If a manager worries that voicing a concern about an employee’s performance or behavior could result in the employee’s termination, the manager is unlikely to speak up. By empowering managers to be safe spaces, organizations can foster a culture of trust in which employees feel comfortable asking for help. However, it isn’t enough to label someone a “safe space;” managers need to earn that role with humility, dependability and helpful guidance.
Finally, difficult conversations are often more than one conversation. When you have a challenging conversation with someone, you are coaching them to adjust behavior or gain a perspective that may be difficult for that person to grasp at the outset. It often takes several conversations or ongoing feedback for change to occur. Don’t get discouraged; each difficult conversation is an opportunity to nurture the relationship.
