I bang on about feedback all the time. For good reason – feedback is one way that we learn and grow and get better.
But there are some limitations to feedback – it is usually only as good as the person delivering it.
And often, people get themselves all knotted up about delivering feedback, so the feedback is either so watered down as to be ineffectual or so aggressively delivered that it is bruising.
If you find yourself in this sort of situation, here’s a simple solution.
Marshall Goldsmith Coaching have put together this great e-book that talks about feed FORWARD rather than feedback. You can click on the link to download it.
It is as the name suggests. Rather than giving someone feedback on something they did in the past, and providing suggestions on what they might have done differently, instead – we ask them to look forward.
Here’s how you can use this very simple technique:
- Choose a behaviour you want to improve in (e.g. time management).
- Ask your peers and colleagues for suggestions in getting better at this behaviour.
- Say thank you.
For example, every month you can say: “I am working on getting better at time management. Can you give me 2-3 suggestions how I can improve?”…
That’s it! So simple.
WANT MORE?
If you would like to discuss how I could help you look at the giving or receiving of feedback, get in touch.
And if you’re still hungry for more you can find my leadership book here which has some great resources on feedback. Or you can click this link for more posts on feedback.
Until next week, happy leading.
With thanks to Marshall Goldsmith for the use of their concept and e-book.
