Provide Feedback

We want a constructive framework for giving project and personal feedback where we each have the willingness, tools, direction, resources, and awareness to grow.

Mindsets

What are the agreed perspectives we hold for providing feedback?

Give feedback regularly early and often. Encourage each other to own mistakes and regrets to support growth. Acknowledge we all have something to learn and put your shared meaning in the pool. Notice each others’ strengths first. Life is too short to work with assholes.

Habits

What habits nurture how we provide feedback?

INDIVIDUALLY

Practice introspection by continuing to look at how we can improve individually and as a team

Our Monday team meetings are a time to set our intentions for the week. Our Friday Victory Lap is a time for you to reflect on what you accomplished throughout the week. Use this time to share your personal progress or breakthroughs you had.

Be willing to change, accept feedback from your peers, and try new things

It’s not easy to get feedback. It can often make you feel confused or frustrated. It might cause you to become defensive. Know that you have a response in your back pocket that is good for any situation.

“Thank you for the feedback.”

Take it, practice it, use it. When you get any type of feedback, no matter how much it may hurt your feelings, use this phrase. It will help to reset your mindset. Instead of positioning feedback as criticism, you can position that feedback as a gift—a way your coworker is giving you to improve.

Create learning opportunities for others

Take an interest in others’ interests. Think about your network and who you could connect. Are there Meetup groups, events, or classes that would interest that person? Look for opportunities for others as much as you do yourself.

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2 PEOPLE

More one-on-one catch-ups with informal 360 degree conversations

Whether it’s a short coffee walk or a lunch date, time spent catching up with fellow members of the New Kind team is time well spent. Find out how they’re doing. Honest conversations and feedback reveal our expectations of each other, and when these expectations align with what’s possible, 360 degree conversations can result in increased energy and trust in one another.

Send thoughtful reminders to New Kinders who may have missed a task

Put assumptions aside; we all know that schedules can get cluttered and things get buried occasionally. A friendly Slack check-in can be a great reminder in case a fellow New Kinder missed a task or got sidetracked by other priorities. It’s important to remember that this type of check-in doesn’t represent a lack of trust. On the contrary, it is the healthy pulse of a highly functioning team.

Ask and give feedback to someone you don’t regularly interact with and someone you do

Don’t just give negative feedback.

The Harvard Business Review did an extensive study of how the ratio of positive comments to negative ones affects business performance.

They found “(t)he average ratio for the highest-performing teams was 5.6 (that is, nearly six positive comments for every negative one).”

And it’s not just good to practice for business relationships. Check out this other illuminating piece of evidence:

When it comes to a successful marriage, “…the single biggest determinant is the ratio of positive to negative comments the partners make to one another. And the optimal ratio is amazingly similar — five positive comments for every negative one. (For those who ended up divorced, the ratio was 0.77 to 1 — or something like three positive comments for every four negative ones.)”

That is not to say negative feedback isn’t helpful or needed. If a behavior is inappropriate or if someone isn’t meeting a standard of quality, that should absolutely be addressed. Just be sure there’s a healthy ratio of praise as well.

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3+ PEOPLE

Give feedback that is actionable

Use the SMART model when thinking about how to give feedback. S=Specific, M=Memorable, A=Actionable, R=Relevant, T=Timely.

Experiment with new ways of providing and handling feedback in meetings

Ex. Run a skit exercise and act out each feedback topic with a “feedback villain” and a “feedback hero”

Make time to build understanding together

You’d be amazed how many disagreements are caused by semantics.

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GAPS

How do we find the right intervals for sharing stages of project, giving meeting ratings, constructive feedback after presentations, or to each team member throughout the year?

How do we create the space for everyone to say what they truly believe directly without being mean?