As the fourth installment in a series on individual skills people can improve to contribute to being part of a more successful team, I’m focusing in on feedback. This post is specifically focused on individuals that keeps quiet and don’t provide their team with feedback, or when they do, spend too much time in couching the feedback that it actually gets lots.
Being sensitive to others and thinking about how someone will react to constructive criticism is a good skills, however being overly concerned is robbing your team mates of valuable input. If you often find yourself evaluating how someone will emotionally react, you likely spend a lot of time listening and being in tune with others. You need to use this skill and push past your concerns that the person won’t like what you have to say. Use your skills in intuitively understanding what is important to others to deliver the message in a way that can be heard.
Feedback really is a gift, so be confident in your intentions. If you are providing feedback to help someone improve personally or for the team to improve results, focus on why it is important. Push yourself to be very succinct, don’t feel the need to provide the individual with all your rational as to why you need to deliver the message to them. Keep in mind the following key points on how to deliver effective feedback;
Supply information, rather than simply praise or criticism.
Provide the feedback as “could” not “should” so people don’t feel they are being controlled.
Focus the feedback on goals of what will be achieved as a result.
Reflecting on your opportunities for improvement is important for all of us to do on a regular basis. Pushing yourself to deliver feedback versus sitting back and observing, shows your team you are engaged and will also help build trust and improve overall team performance.
Lynn