FEEDBACK – How to make it work for your team

Top Team Tip

Make time for feedback.  Your team comprises many mini-relationships and interactions.  Creating time and a structure for feedback enables each individual relationship to function more effectively and can get rid of any blockages in the system.

Feedback doesn’t work if:

·         It is uninvited

·         It happens at the wrong time

·         It is unstructured

Feedback does work if:

·         It is invited

·         It is expected

·         It is structured

Support your team in giving each other feedback by:

·         Emphasising how important it is

·         Creating a time and space for it to happen

·         Suggesting a structure

·         Doing it regularly yourself

Example Structure for Feedback:

·         Plan a one-to-one meeting

·         Limit the time to 5 minutes each to share your feedback with each other

·         Use a structure like this:

o   “I feel ________when you do / say _________”(what drains my energy)

o   “I feel _______ _when you do / say _________”(what boosts my energy)

·         Spend 2 – 3 minutes in a dialogue to clarify (not to justify or get defensive)

·         Agree actions: make suggestions and offer commitments

Regularly practising giving and receiving feedback in a structured way has a significant impact on how team members interact and can prevent breakdowns within the team.