The Art Of Giving Feedback - Pdf Download

Hi Guys,
Patrick Lencioni's '5 Dysfunctions of a Team' book talks about five reasons for any team to fail. One of them is - Fear of Conflict !
At times it gets very uncomfortable for most of us, when it comes to sharing our feedback with others and It might lead to some conflicts, which nobody wants to experience.
Feedback sharing is an ART, if followed correctly it can lead any team to become a Better Team...
Check out this latest blog on the same topic.
Happy reading
Thanks,
PS : Follow the link if you don't want to download the pdf version. - Magic Of Teams » The Art of Giving Feedback

Dear Neo Sharma,

I have read Patrick Lencioni's book titled "Understanding and Overcoming Team Dysfynctions". Since I conduct the training programme on "5 Dysfunctions of Team" based on this book, I read your article avidly. Nevertheless, I find little disconnect in art of giving feedback and 5 dysfunctions of team. Of the five dysfunctions, you have tried to establish connection with one of the dysfunctions i.e. "Fear of Conflict".

The root cause of "Fear of Conflict" is company's culture in general and behaviour of boss in particular. A company's culture that promotes sycophancy, conflict is a taboo. Subordinates are expected to be lackeys. Bosses forever use their positional power and they do not like their actions or decisions to be examined critically. Disagreement is considered as disobedience. This type of environment obviously destroys the teamwork.

On the other side how to give feedback is a great skill. Constructive feedback motivates the other person. If this skill is mastered, then it helps in building the trust among the team members. But then to eradicate dysfunction of "Fear of Conflict", one needs to know how to take feedback. It is the ego or high-handedness that prohibits one from taking the feedback. Subordinates talk only those things that their boss likes. Against this backdrop, even if subordinate has mastered the art of giving feedback, it carries no meaning as there is little chance to use this skill.

Though you have mentioned Patrick Lencioni's book in your post, there is no mention in the attachment.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

"" A company's culture that promotes sycophancy, conflict is a taboo.
Subordinates are expected to be lackeys.""
There are certain national characteristics which manifest themselves in their behaviour.
Moreover bosses always use positional powers and if things go wrong they want some scapegoat in position.
Culture of slavery for centuries has put in a survival gene which manifest itself in sycophancy and yesmanship.
People speak what the bosses want to hear.Where does the organisation go in such cases?

Hi Dinesh Divekar,

First of, Thank You very much for taking your time to not only read the article but to write your feedback as well.

Fear of conflict reaps in because of many reasons. It could start at any level – be it executive or the boss. You are certainly right about the culture of a company that could promote this fear.

In his book ‘Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team’ Patrick said, “In this situation people try to win the arguments. They start manipulating the conversations to get what they want. And, instead of discussions with the other person face to face, they vent about them in the hallways after the meeting is over.’ The sad part is that The Fear of Conflict comes in one more form – Fear of Personal Conflict. Where we start taking these situations as a personal attack on self.

Timeworn style of leadership might still follow such traits, which are not helping organizations or even individuals. And, this kind of non-effective communication is affecting us from all the sides in our personal life to huge companies.

That’s why the new age of leaders takes such situations as an opportunity to correct the wrong behavior and nudge towards the ultimate goal and convert such situations from ‘monologue’ to ‘dialogue’ occasions. This certainly requires polished skills in feedback sharing.

Good to see people like you contributing to help people to move from Timeworn to New Age style of leadership.

Thanks again ☺

Hi Nathrao,
Thanks for your comments. I second your thought about bosses using their positions to influence each other's behavior. This is very sad to see such examples around us. However, good part is : it is changing dramatically. Now new age leaders have started moving towards more positive ways to influence the team.
Thanks again... Keep sharing!
Thanks,