Giving Feedback
Intro to Feedback
Feedback is an essential component of personal and professional growth, but it can be challenging to give and receive effectively. Understanding the purpose and benefits of feedback can help individuals approach the process with a positive mindset.
Feedback is not a dirty wordAlex explains why feedback is critical for personal and company growth, and provides an overview on how to give feedback, receive feedback, and make feedback a part of your company's culture.
How to Give Feedback
Giving feedback requires tact, empathy, and clear communication. Experts recommend using specific examples, avoiding judgmental language, and focusing on behavior rather than personality. It's also essential to consider the recipient's personality and communication style to ensure the feedback is received positively.
My Management Lessons from Three Failed Startups, Google, Apple, Dropbox, and TwitterThis article contains a number of concepts that Kim dives deeper into in her book, Radical Candor. Here she provides a framework for giving feedback with 4 quadrants, with one quadrant in particular being the "best" form: tough love.
Feedback EquationLara provides a clear framework to structure specific and actionable feedback: provide an observation of a behavior, explain how it impacted you, and then ask questions and make requests.
Thirty Percent FeedbackJason provides a feedback framework for two types: provide high-level / strategic feedback if a project is in its early stages ("30% done"), and provide typo-level feedback if a project is nearing completion ("90% done").
Disrupting Bias in FeedbackJill describes common patterns in bias: prove-it-again, the tightrope, personality penalties, the maternal wall, tug-of-war, isolation, imbalance scrutiny, the cheerleader, and the gut check. Understanding and analyzing these patterns in yourself may lead you to provide more objective feedback.
How to Receive Feedback
Receiving feedback can be uncomfortable, but it's an opportunity to learn and improve. Experts recommend staying open-minded, asking for clarification, and focusing on the feedback's content rather than the delivery. It's also important to avoid becoming defensive or dismissive and to thank the giver for their input.
Getting Better FeedbackMatt suggests that getting meaningful performance feedback is the responsibility of the individual, not the manager. He shares three techniques for getting better feedback: • Direct your manager’s attention • Articulate your growth areas • Seek feedback outside your manager
Taking Feedback ImpersonallyJulie provides tips on how to receive feedback: have a growth mindset rather a fixed mindset, and taking into account that feedback helps you achieve your purpose.
