THE F-WORD; Why You Want More & not Less of It

Let's talk about the dreaded F word.

Feedback. Feedback has a bad rep with people. Just like an infamous haunted house in the town, feedback has earned a negative connotation in teams and organizations. Not only does the receiver dread it, the boss who has to give it, finds it difficult because of the potential harm it might do to the relationship and the source's image.

On the contrary, feedback is what feeds the performance of individuals on teams. Feedback is what holds communicaiton together like glue. If feedback does not exist, people are doing worse than just making mistakes. They do not even know that they are making mistakes. That's like driving a truck with broke

n signal lights plus no side view mirrors.

One habit that all high performing teams share in common is giving more feedback. The leaders of these teams make sure that feedback is given fast, and properly.

According Gallup, three things make feedback effecive as opposed to futile.

1. Frequent: In great teams, it is given regularly. This decreases the gap between performance and performance management.

2. Future-oriented: Yes, the thing happened in the past, but if a leader fails to tie the feedback to future expectation then feedback lacks the motivational and clarity pieces which are pivotal ingredients to its success.

3. Focused on behavior: This one is crucial. Instead of assuming inten, focus on measurable behavior. Not only will that save you from the self-sabotaging part of you that wants to assign intent to others, but it will also increase the credibility of your feedback.

Lastly, it does not matter how good the delivery of the feedback is. If the receiver of the feedback does not like the source (of the feedback), then, let's say that the rocket failed to lauch.

This brings me to the call of action: Work on your relationship with your team members especially if you want to build a rockstar team .

Without feedback the team fails. Without likability, your feedback fails.

No wonder, John Maxwell says that the leader is the lid and no team rises beyond the leader.