Enabling Career Growth Through Feedback
Lois Zachary is an internationally recognized expert on mentoring and leadership. You’ve likely seen mention of Dr. Zachary’s books, or read her quotes in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Inc. Magazine, T&D, Leadership Excellence, The Chronicle of Higher Education, or other business and leadership news outlets.
Lisa Z. Fain is the Center for Mentoring Excellence™ CEO, a global speaker, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results.
Growth in any career or relationship is impossible without feedback, but it has to be approached in the right way. Feedback is much more than the linear act of asking and receiving. It is a dynamic process that engages both partners fully and helps them move forward, learn, and find excitement in new opportunities for growth.
Just as a mentor who understands how to support, challenge, and help clarify vision can facilitate mentee growth and development, a leader must be prepared to help themselves, and their employees, move forward to meet new challenges and accomplish career goals.
There are six important components of the feedback process, and we provide an in-depth look at each one in our new book, The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, Third Edition. Here are some of the key takeaways that will help you improve as a leader and support the development of your employees so your organization can thrive.
Set the Stage for Feedback
One of your roles as a leader is to provide thoughtful, candid, and constructive feedback in a manner that supports individual learning and development, while encouraging employees to express themselves. When your employees trust that your intentions are aligned with their best interest, and you trust that their intentions are to better themselves and the organization, you pave the way for ongoing feedback.
Encourage Employees to Ask for Feedback
Encouraging your employees to ask for feedback facilitates self-direction. Sometimes, however, a person’s lack of experience, lack of power, or feelings of intimidation or inadequacy may get in the way. When and if this happens, it is helpful to open up a conversation and defuse tension around feedback from the beginning. Find out what the person’s experience has been with asking for, receiving, and giving feedback and what, if any, hesitation they might have.
Give Feedback
Giving feedback may be one of the most valuable and challenging aspects of being a leader. Above all, avoid making assumptions. The bottom line is that everyone is different, and it is important to celebrate and understand those differences. If you deliver feedback in a way that is either watered down, disrespectful, or culturally misaligned, you risk alienating your employees or inadvertently causing resentment. Be aware of your own cultural preferences and those of your organization, and take the time to learn what your employees’ individual cultural preferences are.
Growth in any career or relationship is impossible without feedback, but it has to be approached in the right way.
LOIS ZACHARY & LISA FAIN
Be Willing to Receive Feedback
Receiving feedback should be an open, interactive, clarifying, and confirming experience for both you and your employees. When receiving feedback, it is important that you–or the person you are giving feedback to–keep an open mind so that what is being said is also being heard. This will help you avoid a situation where the feedback is ignored, dismissed, or met with resistance.
Accept Feedback
A response to feedback should be rooted in thought, perspective, and insight. Trust is a critical part of the relationship between you and your employees, and it lays the foundation for a more positive exchange of feedback. It is especially important to set the context for your feedback and allow time for reflection. Similarly, if your employees offer you feedback, take the time to pause and reflect. This will steer you away from a negative reaction and will open you up to new learning and organizational growth.
Act on Feedback
The ultimate goal of feedback is to take action. Encourage yourself and your employees to move forward to meet new challenges. Consider scheduling accountability check-ins to share any progress and identify potential opportunities for improvement.
When you and your team agree from the start to welcome feedback on an ongoing basis, you create a habit of sharing with each other your observations of positive and negative behavior, and your suggestions for ongoing organizational improvement and career growth.
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