How To Encourage Others To Give Feedback???

When someone is giving you feedback, how would you react? Will that reaction encourage others to give feedback?

Here are some hints on how to react in a positive way when you receive feedback (especially negative feedback):
1. Accept criticism unconditionally.
2. Listen to them and give appropriate reactions through verbal/non-verbal communication.
3. Express gratitude for feedback.
4. Don't take the feedback as a personal attack or offense.
5. Listen to the person giving the feedback.
6. Continue to ask for feedback.
7. Ask for clarifications or specific events.
8. Inform the person about the changes that you made.
9. Tell others about the help you received.
10. Acknowledge positive results from this feedback.

Some good quotes on positive thinking:

"A positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible."
"It's only your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude."

Hi Anu,

That was a good one...

How about the same for those who give negative feedback...believe me, I find it difficult to manage it :D

1. Get your emotions under control. You don't want to critique someone else's actions when you are angry or upset. You are likely to say something you don't really mean or to react poorly to something that is said to you.

2. Find a private place. No one wants to receive negative feedback in front of others. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but that should be a last resort. Take a meeting in your office, call the person into a vacant conference room, step into the lunchroom if it is vacant.

3. Focus on their actions, not on the person. You create an immediate barrier when you criticize the person. Focus instead on what you want to change. Focus on their performance.

4. Be specific. It does no good to tell someone 'you have a bad attitude'. You need to identify specific actions the person took or specific things they said if you want them to understand.

5. Be timely. Negative feedback should be given as soon as possible after the event. If you see an employee being rude to a customer, don't wait until their annual performance review to tell them. How many other customers will they have angered in the meantime? Call them into your office right away.

6. Be calm. Don't yell and scream. The other person will become defensive and won't hear what you are trying to tell them.

7. Reaffirm your faith in the person. This reinforces step three, but here you tell them that you still have faith in them as a person and in their abilities; it's just their performance you want them to change. Say something like "you're a good customer service rep, so I'm sure you see the need to be more patient with customers".

8. Stop talking. After you have told the person what specific, recent actions were inappropriate, and why, stop talking. Give the other person a chance to respond to or refute your statements. Listen to what they have to say.

9. Define positive steps. Agree on what future performance is appropriate for the employee. If there are specific things the employee needs to start doing or needs to stop doing, be sure they are clearly identified. If there is something you need to do, perhaps additional training for the employee, agree on that as well.

10. Get over it. After you have given the negative feedback and agreed on a resolution, move on with the job. Don't harbor ill will toward the employee because they made a mistake. Don't hover over them out of fear that they may make another mistake. Monitor their performance as you do all employees, but don't obsess.

Tips:

Giving negative feedback is never easy, but if done properly, it isn't unpleasant.

What You Need:

A private place.
A calm mind.
Patience.
Your sense of humor.

Cheers

Rajat

Hi Rajat,

Thanks for your appreciation. Your posting is really informative. I have one small doubt. Though we take many steps to provide positive feedback and deliver negative feedback in a positive manner, I believe it ultimately depends on the person receiving the feedback, right? So, imagine if the recipient is unable to accept such constructive criticism, what will be their reaction and how can we handle such situations? Any answers, please.

Hi Rajat, Anu,

Both posts are pretty informative and thought-provoking. They show you two sides of the same coin: one about listening to negative feedback and another on giving negative feedback (which is pretty tough indeed, as Rajat has stated).

Anu, you are mostly right -- it all depends on the person who is receiving the feedback. It also depends on the person giving the feedback; they should provide it in a constructive way.

Bala

Hi Anu,

"Though we take many steps to give positive feedback and deliver negative feedback in a positive way, I guess it all depends on the person receiving the feedback, right?

Bala has answered your query, but you know it's a combination of both. Here, the manager needs to know their subordinate well enough to understand the expected results. Most of them apply the same straightforward approach to everyone, which is not correct. After all, this is what leadership is all about!

Cheers,
Rajat"

Hi all,

I would like to add on to one of Rajat's points in giving negative feedback.

Focus on their actions, not on the person:

It is always better to separate the problem from the person. When a problem arises, we tend to focus on the doer and not the problem. The approach in handling problems should be problem-centric and not person-centric.

Hi Anu - I agree with Rajat on the leadership aspect. The leader should understand the audience of their employees and act accordingly when giving feedback.

"Value people with values more than people with competence."

Durga

Durga,
Your point is well taken. Your comment "Value people with values more than people with competence" is something that is apt for today's corporate world. But how many are listening?
Thanks,
Bala

Rightly said! It is tough giving negative feedback when the recipient is not 'open' to it. As you have rightly said, give it in a calm way and make it easier for the recipient to let the feedback sink in. After all, we are not just criticizing that person. We are explaining what needed attention and also we are substantiating it with facts. We could also explain the impact of that person's action/inaction and let that person realize it. We can calmly make it clear that we are NOT deriving any benefit whatsoever by giving this feedback while that person stands to benefit by this action of ours.

When we are at the receiving end of negative feedback, we should also ensure that we evaluate the feedback given and ONLY THEN implement it.

Sanath