Feral Sunar // Allianz Türkiye - Agile Coach
Feedback is actually a gift that we give to each other to move ourselves forward in business life... Let's realize the importance of feedback and shape our next year in this way.
As we move towards the last months of the year, the end-of-year performance evaluation calendars in corporate companies are also gradually taking shape. This period, when receiving and giving feedback is discussed and experienced a lot, is a good opportunity to write down what I have in mind…
According to the Turkish Language Institute, the dictionary meaning of “feedback” is “Information that a person acquires from the environment about the result of a behavior or an arrangement that is made”. My favorite definition is a slightly simpler one: “Sharing information to consolidate or change”.
So how should this information sharing be?
- Often and without being formal, but of course respectful to the other party, with their permission
- Clear and specific without generalization, i.e. based on a lived event
- Future-oriented with the solution
Although more is given in different sources, these three basic principles cover many details. Every feedback we give by adhering to these principles is also a gift, as Marshall Goldsmith said.
Asking “do you have any feedback or suggestions to make me better?” to your peers after a performance or to your manager at any stage of the project gives you the opportunity to get useful advices that you can work on. The kindship here is hidden in the word “any”. It is important to receive feedback that is concrete and will have a direct impact on performance. Making such a request gives the impression that you are a person who is eager to develop themselves and whose ego is not fragile.
I am also adding two good sources here that have provided me with a different perspective on feedback.
The first is Kim Scott's book Radical Candor. I recommend that you study the “radical openness matrix” mentioned in this book.
The second is a four-and-a-half-minute TED video called “The secrets of giving good feedback” by LeeAnn Renninger.
After this short introduction, what I really want to write about is to come up with a few prejudices that are expressed more often during performance periods when working with agile teams.
- “Giving feedback is difficult.”
I'm not saying it's easy. After all, this is also a full practice job. It's not difficult for those who give feedback to their teammates at every opportunity throughout the year, without waiting for periods such as pre-determined meetings such as mid and end-of-year performance evaluation!
- “Negative expressions are used when giving negative feedbacks”
Not at all. For example, instead of saying “I don't like working with you at all because I find it very difficult to work with you”, use “Our communication can get difficult when we are working in the same team and we are under time pressure. It is also possible to say that in jobs where we are under time pressure, what I want to see more from you is that you are in open communication with me.” How we say is as critical as what we say.
- “Nobody gives me feedback”
Interesting. We should say ”feedback is not given, it is received" then. In a corporate life where the willingness to give feedback is relatively high, it seemed unlikely that I could not get any feedback at all. I would ask myself a lot of questions. For example, “How much feedback do I give?” “Could there be a situation that prevents my teammates from giving me feedback?”, “In what situation would my teammates give me feedback?”, “How to ask feedcabk if it is not given?” This could also be a good educational topic!
What is clear is that feedback is about the future, not the past... So let's take advantage of feedback, which is a unique resource for improving ourselves, let's make use of it.
P.S. You can contact us by clicking here to share your experiences and ask questions about the agile working method.
*https://www.radicalcandor.com/
*https://www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback?language=tr#t-84718
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