Feedback

Welcome back to Lessons from the Bottom, a series that seeks to democratize organizational perspective and where it comes from. There is wisdom to be gained from the very bottom of the totem pole, and these conversations are meant to showcase those insights. Today, we’re tackling feedback.

Our Totem Poles: Consulting, Finance / Applicable: Everywhere

Introduction

This series can be rendered moot in one fell swoop. A fatal blow to the cause: the inability to take feedback.

In this post, entry level friends remind us that the mismanagement of feedback manifests in many ways: not asking at all, not asking properly, and not taking it well. The core of not asking is pretty self-explanatory. Carve out these structures early. People need to know you’re willing to listen, and ideally, respond.

In reality, propriety and reception are the complements organizations are more apt to forget.

Asking Properly: When and What

Firms err when they seek feedback only upon encountering milestones or melees. Don’t get us wrong. It should be common cadence to collect feedback from employees at that exact six months and exact first year. And we hope organizations ask in the wake of inciting incidents: following layoffs and exits, leadership shakeups, or mass mergers. Both conditions demand open forums, but they cannot be sole catalysts.

Wiser organizations ask when it doesn’t count and when it isn’t demarcated. They ask often and irregularly: as soon as the first day and first week, and as late as at two years and three months. They pepper colleagues with questions on official feedback forms and on the morning walks to coffee. To clarify on the latter, the secret isn’t to surprise, but to anticipate — to ask when it doesn’t obviously serve.

Rightly so, this is where we hedge on what constitutes feedback. Every ask shouldn’t strive to be comprehensive. On a single occasion, you can source sound bites on a particular project or glean thoughts on broader culture. And collecting it runs the gamut of the formal (online surveys) to the informal (catch-ups in your manager’s office).

Asking Properly: How and Who

Evidently, we’re strong advocates for feedback gathered casually and face-to-face: on those walks to lunch; during Uber rides to a client site; by invitation to catch-up in someone’s office. It humanizes an organizational tool that is often quite mechanical.

But we’ll also fall on our swords for one additional, critical parameter: anonymity.

Anonymity calls for confidentiality in the casual cases discussed above. If a manager’s ability to act on feedback depends on their ability to attribute it, then they should explicitly say so. In addition, anonymous feedback forums are equally pivotal. Human psychology and intrinsic power dynamics demand it.

Opponents of anonymity will allude to robust literature against it and desires to breed a “culture of transparency.” Sure, some literature calls anonymity a death wish, but only when applied exclusively. Prescient organizations establish a balance of the open and opaque. And unless your execution strategy is that of Ray Dalio’s, we’re skeptical that fostering transparency requires firms to displace anonymity.

For context, Ray Dalio stewards Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund built on the idea of radical transparency. The culture pushes deep candor, in ideas and feedback, both up and down the ladder. Anonymity is all but extinct. But Bridgewater succeeded in cementing this culture because of dedication to the extreme. And so, it is the representative case, at least in the realm of prosperous, high-profile institutions. The exercise is neither easily replicated nor easily appreciated.

In asking properly, the final consideration is the who. Feedback, for all its unofficial and official manifestations, can be collected by anyone. True careerists will start looking as soon as they walk through the door. Why? Perspective exists at every tier. Eventually, to scale the ladder, you have to develop soft skills (like perspective) to accompany the hard skills (the job itself). We all have the ability to understand what our peers, underlings, and managers either thrive on or wish would improve. The intention should be to listen early and respond when able — even if that’s in five years, when you make senior staff. Sophisticated organizations teach employees to ask at every level. The only nuance being in what capacity you ask: as a newbie looking to learn or as a partner looking to shapeshift the firm.

Reception

Feedback is bound by its reception, the burden of which falls on both giver and recipient.

Entry level hires are due to offer feedback constructively and humbly. Steer clear of ad-hominem grievances unless an individual’s behavior (1) stands to topple the institution (it’s objectively problematic) and/or (2) there’s clear room for recourse (e.g. putting you on a different team). And remember your high school teacher’s least favorite phrase: “I don’t get it.” What don’t you get it? What exactly can we fix? Equip feedback with concrete suggestions or actionable insight.

For recipients, remember reactions are gauged both in the moment and afterward. Employees respect those who don’t use position to excuse themselves. It’s easy to be pre-occupied and defensive; it’s admirable to offer undivided attention and open ears. Our favorites: those who dig into concerns; take notes; ensure they’re internalizing and not listening for the sake of it. And later, those who evaluate the feedback in the context of their own habits and experiences. Depending on the nature of the feedback, givers will assess whether their comments are addressed. In tandem, they will (or should) observe the time taken to implement; the course of action; and the duration of time they last. Actions are the foot soldiers of feedback and the banners of reception — deploy them wisely.

Conclusion

In conclusion, feedback is mission critical to any organization’s success. Note that we covered the type of feedback that tends to move up the chain to the benefit of the organization, not the individual. The latter could be (and likely will be) its own post.

Our Key Takeaways

1. Ask for feedback: formally and casually, openly and anonymously, at all levels
2. Make feedback collection a fluid, rather than rigid process (in terms of timing, structure, etc.)
3. How you give and take feedback matters immensely

Thanks for reading our first post in the series, Lessons from the Bottom. We hope this post on feedback — the black box of it all — sets up the trove of other insights we plan to offer. Please remember that each post is the amalgamation of thoughts from entry level hires in various industries (our totem poles at the top specify which ones). We are not experts. We have imperfect, but relevant perspective. We welcome civil feedback and questions.