The process of giving and requesting feedback is often experienced as awkward, complicated and time-consuming. And so when the workload requires that choices are made, feedback is often the first thing that is dropped off the list. While at the same time, more and more people are recognizing the value of feedback – provided it’s done the right way. But what is the right way? And there’s even a better way: giving feedforward!
Most people prefer to do the things they are good at and which give them pleasure. In other words: use their talents. Logically speaking, this should be what feedback is all about. When someone is trying to find out what they can do to further develop their talents, feedback and recognition are an important part of the process. Even more so now that we have moved much of our business online and we’re asking employees to change the way they work and show extreme levels of flexibility. However, under pressure of the workload, feedback is easy to lose sight of. And yet, in this online world it is no less important to give employees the feedback they need to continue their development.
The traditional HR cycle
The traditional HR approach, with its cycle of appraisal, target-setting and development interviews, is often focused on role requirements. Managers and employees alike are often uncomfortable with this, which means that instead of improved performance, the process may result in feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction. In conventional talent development, feedback may end up being a one-way conversation that is limited to specific competencies and knows only a single possible outcome, a ‘golden standard’. Pre-determined criteria for employee performance may ensure uniformity, but they leave little room for individuality. This approach is blind to the value of unique talents and the way they can enrich organizational roles. It doesn’t fully appreciate that more creative approaches can be just as successful.
Feedback: focus on strengths, not shortcomings
Rather than highlighting what people have to offer, traditional feedback often focuses on what employees should do to conform to the standard. In this way of thinking, shortcomings are considered to offer the greatest potential for growth. We’ve all seen situations in which managers suggest employees sign up for courses in which to work on their lesser strengths in order to better fit their job descriptions. It’s no surprise that such propositions aren’t met with a great deal of enthusiasm. People are happy to change, but not to be changed. They want to be autonomous and take control of (and responsibility for) their own development.
So the assumption on which traditional performance management is based – people will be keen to self-improve if they are given feedback that points out their shortcomings – is simply incorrect. As tempting as it may be to confront a person with the mess they are making, the true purpose of feedback is enabling people to learn and grow. To make this possible, feedback needs to meet certain criteria. Employees are happy to receive feedback so long as it’s constructive and helps them in their development. It’s important to be aware of the kind of feedback we’re giving and to understand the (psychological and often subconscious) mechanisms of the process. For instance, performance may improve as a result of feedback that highlights people’s strengths and points the way to growth. Feedback based on negative judgment on the other hand may even result in a deterioration of performance. The human brain is apt at ignoring and deflecting negative input, so it’s crucially important that feedback is presented in a positive way. But feedback is a two-way process, and there is also a responsibility for the receiver.
Feedback begins with self-reflection
Projection is one of the things that can distort a learning process. Even though we think we are reflecting on the other person, we may actually be seeing our own shortcomings and projecting our own feelings, qualities and hidden aspirations onto them. It’s very important therefore to always ask ourselves what we’re trying to achieve with our feedback, and if we are actually keeping the interest of the other person at heart. If our intention is to make them aware of how their actions are affecting us and to enable them to learn and grow, this is true feedback. It happens all too often, however, that we use ‘feedback’ to express a sense of annoyance and make the other person change their behaviour. For the receiver of feedback, a simple way to distinguish true feedback from projection is to ask a simple question like ‘What do you expect me to do?’
Growth begins with self-reflection and self-awareness. Self-reflection begins with looking at our own behaviour and asking for feedback in order to better understand ourselves and initiate growth. This is the key to a learning attitude. If we take time to reflect on who we are, what we do and the way we do it, we will be able to give feedback with a very different intention.
Constructive feedback means motivated employees
Constructive feedback strengthens employees’ awareness of the qualities that allow them to achieve their optimal performance. This gives them confidence. It helps them feel positive about themselves and get the most out of their personal qualities and talents. As they are able to build on their strengths, they will be more enthusiastic about their jobs and more confident about their abilities. Overall performance will improve, and absence figures will go down. The final result: people will commit to more ambitious goals, and to achieve these goals they will work harder and more collaboratively.
People who are confident about their abilities are often intrinsically motivated to continuous development. They are optimistic about the future and their opportunities, and therefore likely to set more ambitious goals and more resourceful in finding strategies to reach those goals. When posed with unexpected challenges they take this in their stride, without worrying about possible shortcomings or allowing themselves to be discouraged. If they feel they need help, they are more likely to ask for it. In other words: confident employees are innovative, willing to help each other and ready to seek out new opportunities!
Feedforward: look to the future, not the past
Feedback is a good thing, especially when it’s aimed at creating opportunities for the future rather than looking back at things that went wrong in the past. Negative feedback triggers a response in the brain that is similar to physical pain. This creates fear, and once fear takes hold it can be very persistent. People who are afraid find it much more difficult to be creative, to work collaboratively and to make balanced decisions.
Even better than feedback is feedforward: where the focus is not on employees may have done wrong in the past, but on what they can do differently in the future. It’s about the way employees see their own development. It empowers them to have a maximum say in what to develop and how to develop it (self-direction). This increases their opportunities for future success. Their brains are energized and triggered in more positive ways, which means they are more likely to take action. All of this explains why feedforward is so perfectly suited to a renewed HR cycle.
The Spiegelapp, our interactive tool for talent development, ensures that this type of future-oriented feedback is available at any time, thereby encouraging the continuous development of talent. As a result, organizations will notice that not only are their employees more committed, happier and more productive, they will also see a rise in client satisfaction.
Encourage working from strengths
It’s therefore important to always make time for reflection, even when workloads are heavy or when interaction mainly takes place online. Because good-quality feedback and feedforward will help your organization bring hidden talents to light, improve collaborations and strengthen the organization as a whole.
Would you like to know more about feedforward in a renewed HR cycle?
Call Krista Beilschmidt on +31 (0)70 346 92 05 or +31 (0)6 41 27 30 20 for more information and relevant references in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Krista is an HR-consultant, business administrator and organization specialist, and a managing partner of H+C.