Get Ready to Be Ready to Give Feedback

This is not about planning the exact feedback you want to give to a co-worker or direct report on your team.

Even though you have good intentions about offering them feedback, you probably need some time to warm up to the idea.

Feedback Botched
Most people share your apprehension or abject fear of starting honest feedback conversations on a frequent basis. Why?

Because feedback you have received yourself has been botched so badly. But, interestingly, the worst way your past bosses or co-workers have botched their feedback to you is that they avoided it entirely. You didn’t receive feedback when it could have been really helpful.

You and everyone you know has had a similar experience with feedback.

Vicious Cycle
And the pattern of feedback avoidance and missed opportunities keeps getting worse the longer feedback is delayed. If you avoid giving feedback when it is first needed, the problem increases & the other person feels bad because they sense their performance isn’t great. There’s unspoken tension between all parties, and the conversation is avoided longer and dread increases.

OK, Just Pause
All you need to do now to “get ready” is breathe deeply and reassure yourself that you have decided to fix all of this. No matter where you are and how long you’ve delayed feedback conversations, there are ways to turn all of this around and bring the benefits of feedback into focus.

Previewing Feedback
There is something you can do before giving feedback. It’s getting others ready for a new way of doing things:

• Tell people on your team you’d like to encourage more feedback to you.
• Tell people on your team you’ll be chatting with them more frequently about how they are doing.
• Relax into a new mindset about feedback and how much closer it will bring you to each team member.
• Appreciate the trust you will be building.

Now you are ready to be ready….

Read The Feedback Imperative for more information on how to give great feedback!