"Giving feedback is worthless. It's actually not quite worthless. It's worth something for the person who gives it. But study after study shows that basically giving someone else feedback has very minute impact in their behavior. What you want is a culture where people invite feedback. Now that is very powerful." - L. David Marquet
Click here for the interview.
A few weeks ago I facilitated a team retrospective. As I read the feedback, a few bullets felt like a punch in the gut. "Times for demos are going off the rails." "I felt rushed during my sprint review." "The facilitator needs to stop interrupting." I was the facilitator.
While in my head I assumed giving people extra time meant it gave them an opportunity to interact with customers during demo, this also meant I was taking away the time from others.
I took note, apologized and now I will improve for my next facilitation. This is just a simple example of why we need to be able to invite feedback. Otherwise, the team members would have carried their grudge and their concern about upcoming demos.
How do we create a culture of inviting feedback? Here are some recommendations.
- Lead by example by asking for specific feedback from others.
- Instead of asking "how did that go?," be specific. Ask questions like "what change would you suggest in..." This allows you not to fish for compliments but to get the improvement you need.
- Create venues for your team to give and receive feedback. I use the Retrospective: at the end of a development cycle, the team gets together to review what went well and what needs improvement. Here is some information.
- Don't take it personal. Some folks may not be gracious in how they give feedback. Even if they do intend to hurt you, practice compassion for what they must have endured to feel anger.
Read this for more advice.
What else would you recommend?
