Leaders provide feedback to partners and actively solicit feedback from partners (and learn from the feedback).

Feedback is a nearly free stream of information.  It’s not perfect as it represents one person’s personal perception of the situation, but it is real.  And if we assume that folks are providing feedback with good intentions, feedback is our best opportunity to learn how our organization and our partners are doing.  Feedback provides us with information on how we can improve (and that information is often hidden from us if we do not ask).

To get feedback, we need to start by providing a safe atmosphere, that is, a culture where we encourage open communication often/always.  We solicit conversations about how we are doing and we reward people who speak their truths.  We make it clear that we are excited to get real feedback.  This is an active part of our culture and not something we save for annual reviews of operations and personnel or for emergencies or crises.  This is a routine conversation we have with everyone.

We savor all feedback and carefully consider it and report back to the provider what we have determined (and then we share the feedback and improvement action plan with the world).  Our intent is that we are always improving in alignment with our organizational and personal goals in manners consistent with our shared principles and values.  We gauge the feedback in the context of our experience and the experiences of others (is it true for us and for others?) and examine it to determine how we can improve (can we do what we do better?  Or can we be doing other things that match our purpose?).  We look for ways to improve the experience of the folks providing us feedback and the organization and its partners, in general.  We also look for ways to expand our peripheral vision, reducing our blind spots as people and as the organization, so that the information given as feedback is not a surprise.  That requires us to proactively look for improvement opportunities (beyond feedback).  We are not waiting for someone to point out how we can improve; we seek opportunities to improve.  But, we never stop soliciting and using feedback--it’s an important tool in our improvement toolbox and our improvement mindset.

Note: we have to help folks give and receive feedback.  These are not innate skills and in most organizations where we have spent all of our time suppressing feedback (and the people who provide it), it will have to be learned (and earned) by our partners and our organization.  Yup, it’s a culture shift for most.  Feedback by itself is not sufficient to make our organizations and partners better, but it is certainly necessary.  It starts with our dedication to feedback, but it will take time to show folks that we, as the leaders, and the organization, as a whole, mean it, as we do it.  And feedback needs to be part of our organization’s wider culture, our commitment to open, honest, and safe communication.

We expect and require everyone’s honest feedback on how our organization, our people (you, your staff, colleagues, and our management), and our processes/systems are meeting the needs of you and our partners.  How can we do better?  How can I do better?  How can we/I help you get better?

I wrote this and am always looking for your feedback so I can improve it. Comment or email.  One of only a handful of folks I track, Galen Emanuale wrote/videoed some great stuff on feedback.  If you do not know Galen Emanuale, you need an introduction.  Start here: https://galenemanuele.com/blog/how-to-build-culture-feedback  His videos and blog post are pure gold.