Feedback on Feedback
May I ask you something? Can you recall a time where you’ve been enthusiastic, giddy or maybe even exuberant about an upcoming… performance review? And, having written those two words, I can literally see how your face drops. Giddiness and exuberance coupled with performance reviews? That’s probably the crankiest oxymoron ever! *which is used here for a little shake-up* Seriously, can you take a look back and reflect on those many — or not too many — occasions where you’ve been up to being reviewed by your peers — as in 360 degree feedback — or by your managers/higher-ups/superiors? Or, better yet, can you look back and reflect on how you have been 360-reviewing the others?
There’s a reason I’m asking. To look back and to reflect on things in writing is an exercise that gets none to little spotlight at most tech companies (group retrospective meetings aside). And, the fact that for performance reviews folks are expected to bring in meaningful written reflections not only about themselves but about their teammates/colleagues... this just cries out for a question: “How can anyone be sure that the feedback that people come up with will actually be the one that has meaning and value, and does provide an incentive and guidance for professional improvement?”
I’ll try to answer this question myself, by doing some reflection. No, I’ve never been OK with the performance reviews, and some of the 360-feedback that I’d received has proven just 2 simple things: there are people who like you for who you are, and there are people who don’t like you for who you are. And, there are people who just call you “a professional” and “a responsible person”. Besides, there are people who don’t know you at all, and yet are none the bit shy of throwing their judgment about your personal qualities, achievements, and capabilities. That’s what pisses me off most. I used to be so nervous about the very fact of being judged for the work to which I was giving my all, and if you check the articles in the “Related” and “Further reading” section below, you’ll see that I’m not the only one who feels that way. To put it differently: I was a high performer in the areas where some of the people who were supposed to 360-review me never thought I’d be capable of performing — because of their personal biases, not mine. And, I loathed exposure to those biased reviews that made me feel less than who I am. Eventually, as I look back and reflect now, I can tell that those judgmental reviews have put in some serious cracks in my relationship with the employer org.
So, from what it looks, my experience represents a scenario that any sensible employer wouldn’t want to be replicated at their company. What are the lessons learned, and how can things come up differently? The more I think of this, the more I see that folks need to be somehow taught at being non-judgmental, and trained — although I normally cringe at this word, it’s “trained” this time, not educated, because if someone hasn’t been educated, they have to be trained — to express their opinion about others in a benevolent way (check “Further reading” section below for some tips + Non-Violent Communication, the book). In some cases, it might help if the reviewee receives condensed one-on-one feedback which would be based on the 360-reviews — and, then, “editing for non-judgmental expression” would be the responsibility of the person in charge of delivering the feedback.
There’s another perspective to this. Some people are overly self-critical, by their nature, and overly self-reflective. These ones might probably be too harsh on themselves in their self-assessment reviews. And, some err on the side of arrogance. I’ve written on that before in Non-Judgmental Communication, see the part re: Dunning-Krueger effect. And, blunt feedback, lacking in a nuanced assessment of skills and personal qualities, might severely traumatize the too self-critical person who, nonetheless, is a talented teammate, and just … needs to be treated with a little bit of kitten gloves. Well, we hail empathy at workplace these days, don’t we? Besides, it’s hard to tell what’s the ratio of “sensitives” (the ones who are overly self-critical) to the “non-sensitives” (the ones who are overly self-confident, and are thick-skinned enough to endure some harsh feedback — which would be absolutely recommended, in their case). The nuances are infinite, because of the diversity — and we’ve got to be mindful of that.
Related:
How Communication Factors In To Production
(fr)Agile Teams: Handle with Care
Further reading:
360 Degree Feedback: See the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Self-Assessment: Tips for Writing Your Performance Evaluation
Why Giving Feedback At Work Doesn’t Improve Performance, And What You Can Do About It
Empathy at Work: Developing Skills to Understand Other People
