A strong organizational culture is often built on two essential pillars: results and feedback. This combination fosters continuous development, improves team collaboration, and builds a positive internal atmosphere. When people trust each other and communicate openly, it’s easier to foster genuine relationships both professionally and personally.

Why Feedback?

Have you ever wondered how others perceive you? Or whether your performance is meeting expectations? Perhaps there’s something in your work or in a project that could be improved to reach your goals?

The answer to these questions is simple: feedback. It is a vital part of every organization’s success, whether it’s for the overall business, a specific team, or individual growth.

Feedback allows us to improve not only the projects we work on but also our interactions with others. By understanding different perspectives, we can grow, enhance our self-awareness, and address strengths and areas for improvement. Receiving valuable feedback is a great motivator and provides a sense of relevance within a team or organization.

Feedback also helps in resolving conflicts and tackling difficult conversations. It offers an opportunity for constructive dialogue, where potential issues can be addressed before they become bigger problems. Within a team, feedback reinforces positive practices and helps eliminate less desirable ones. It’s a fundamental part of learning and accumulating experiences.

In the organizational context, feedback allows teams to adjust or stop projects that aren’t yielding the expected results. There’s no fear of offending others in such situations because feedback helps us see opportunities for improvement. In our approach, feedback is about challenging ideas and enhancing them for better results. While not all feedback is implemented immediately, it ensures that the project owner takes it into consideration. Having an environment where people feel safe expressing their opinions often leads to product improvements, better team collaboration, and even the formation of new teams.

Is Feedback a Natural Part of Our Culture?

Yes and no. Over the years, as organizations grow, it becomes a challenge to maintain the core elements that have helped them succeed, including feedback. However, implementing certain tools and practices ensures that this essential element stays alive, even in larger companies. For example:

• Employee Engagement Surveys: These tools provide real-time insights into employee satisfaction, offering an alternative to the traditional yearly engagement surveys. It’s also a platform where anyone can share their thoughts or start discussions on relevant topics.
• Training on Giving and Receiving Feedback: New team members are encouraged to take part in training that equips them with the skills to handle feedback. Afterward, feedback is gathered to continuously improve the program.
• Feedback Tools: These tools allow employees to request and provide feedback during designated periods, generating reports that help guide personal and professional development.
• Regular 1:1 Meetings: These meetings between team leaders and team members are essential for sharing feedback, discussing challenges, and strengthening relationships.
• Code Reviews: A tool used by developers where feedback is given on code quality and how it aligns with the project goals. This feedback process helps improve overall work quality.
• Killing Circle: A group feedback exercise where team members pass cards around, writing constructive feedback for each person. The cards circulate, and feedback is confirmed or built upon, creating a comprehensive feedback exchange.
• Pair Programming: A collaborative method where two programmers work together on the same task, providing immediate feedback on each other’s solutions, resulting in better quality work.
• Team Retrospections: Group retrospectives that allow teams to reflect on their performance, discuss what went well, and identify areas for improvement. This is typically done after specific work periods or sprints.

4 Principles for Effective Feedback

For feedback to be effective, it must align with certain principles. Here are four principles to ensure feedback serves its true purpose:

1. Ask for Feedback
   Feedback is easier to give and receive when actively requested. This sets the tone that you’re open to hearing what others have to say, reducing the emotional barriers that might arise.
2. Be Yourself, but Listen
   Understanding that each person has a unique communication style is key. Listening attentively and adjusting the delivery of feedback based on the recipient’s preferences can make the process more constructive.
3. Use the FEED Model
   The FEED model (Facts, Effects, Emotions, Development) allows feedback to cover various aspects of a situation. It helps address multiple communication styles and provides both praise and constructive advice, guiding individuals on what to continue, start, or stop doing.
4. Feedback Is Not Just Criticism
   While criticism can be part of feedback, it is essential to balance it with praise. Recognizing achievements and offering positive reinforcement motivates individuals and strengthens relationships. Public praise or informal recognition, like through a company-wide channel, can have a powerful impact.

Receiving Feedback: A Key to Growth

Finally, a few words about receiving feedback. This is a less-brought, but still a very important topic. As I mentioned above, the process of giving and receiving feedback is related to various emotions. That is why it is worth thinking about feedback as a gift. Why? Because we give gifts to the people, we care about and who are important to us. We spend time to make this gift as much suited to the receiver as possible. We want it to be useable, and the recipients should take from it what is most important to them. So, the next time you receive feedback, take a deep breath… and say ‘Thank you’ 🙂 And then choose what’s important for you and work on it. Good luck!