Utilizing feedback to supercharge your growth
Great feedback is so crucial and appreciated and yet so hard to master. I find it fascinating. There is so much to it, so many aspects to take into account if you want to be really good at giving and receiving feedback.
There are plenty of reasons why you, whether you are an engineer or a manager, should hone your feedback skills. The value of real, honest and well formulated feedback is immense. Being able to provide that to your colleagues will be very helpful and I can guarantee they will appreciate you for it. Regularly asking for feedback from others is one of the best ways to challenge yourself to grow on an individual level.
To start with, here’s a simple description of feedback that I rely on:
Feedback is information about the past, given in the present, to influence the future.
I’d like to add some details around this to make it more clear. The information about the past should be detailed and without judgment. The feedback should be given in a safe environment, with the best intentions. The information can only influence the future in a certain way, if it’s well received and understood:
Feedback is detailed information, without judgment, about the past, given in the present in a safe environment and with the best possible intentions, so that it is well received and understood, thereby increasing the possibility to influence the future.
Asking your colleagues for feedback usually leads to better insight into how others see you and how they interpret your behavior. It will help you to understand where you need to improve, and also greater confidence in your skills and the value you provide. Another positive effect is in terms of relations; it usually also builds trust and respect for those who provide honest feedback.
The more I thought about feedback, the more I realized that there was so much I wanted to say on this topic. I decided to divide it up into several different posts and make this a series about feedback instead of one huge wall of text.
First off, we will dive into asking for 360 feedback, which is common practice in many tech companies as a preparation for your development talk with your manager. Next up, we’ll look into ways to build a habit around asking for feedback way more often than once or twice a year. After this, we’ll focus on how you can excel at giving feedback. Last, but definitely not least, we’ll take a closer look at the precious act of receiving feedback well.
What are your thoughts on feedback?
