There is a link between feedback and great teamwork
Every day we see the important link between feedback and teamwork. Teams and leaders quickly get interested, engaged and focused when we share survey results with them. Using feedback is a great step to create a high performing team.
Shared goals are necessary for good teamwork and this proves true every time we bring teams together to look at their survey findings. Getting and sharing quality feedback leads to engaged & aligned teams.
Are you using feedback as an engagement tool?
Evidence suggests that great leaders are attuned to what people around them are thinking. They take the time to seek out the views and opinions of others and to share those views to develop deeper insights. Despite this, many leaders are not taking a disciplined approach to getting and sharing feedback.
So, are you engaging your team enough? Here are a few questions to ask yourself along with some tips for success.
How does feedback help?
Sharing feedback results has many benefits
- The process brings people together with a specific common purpose and creates an opportunity to engage, align and motivate them.
- Focusing on survey data reduces the impact of individual personalities. It gets people discussing the data rather than personal differences.
- Giving people a chance to share their views and listen to other points of view, with supporting data, can result in more productive discussion.
- Clarifying points of agreement reduces potential conflict. Usually there are many more points of agreement than disagreement and this puts the differences into a better perspective.
- Differences of opinion can be clarified and discussed. Again, the focus is on the data and survey responses rather than personal positions.
- There is a compound effect that comes from reviewing feedback. Feedback can lead to deeper discussion, refinement of ideas, development of further ideas and agreement on solutions.
- Taking individual ideas or feedback and using the power of teamwork to make them great ideas.
- Presenting and discussing feedback clarifies issues and leads to agreement on decisions and action plans which create common goals for the team.
“No matter how good you think you are as a leader, my goodness, the people around you will have all kinds of ideas for how you can get better.”
Jim Yong Kim
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
Steve Jobs
Are you seeking feedback & ideas to help make decisions?
Make sure you are getting enough
Based on our research, we know that not enough teams and organizations are getting the feedback they really need. Often, leaders just don’t think about it. Or they don’t make it a priority.
Make it a priority and don’t let other things get in your way
Most people like the idea of getting feedback. However, many things get in the way, including lack of time, expertise, tools and resources, along with other priorities and budget constraints. And, sometimes, people avoid it because they fear what people might have to say.
Make decisions and act with proper insight
Leaders often make decisions and act without seeking feedback and ideas from those who have valid contributions that should be considered. This can have several consequences. People with important ideas may not feel valued. And, without their contributions, poor decisions may be taken. People are then unlikely to be aligned and committed to the decisions.
Is feedback leading you & your team in the right direction?
When people do seek feedback, we see several common mistakes. Three major pitfalls include poor survey design, not creating the right context to get feedback and alignment around the wrong goals due to a poor feedback process.
Make sure your surveys are well designed
There is a real skill in designing a good survey. Typically, a poor survey starts with failing to establish clear survey goals and objectives. And, this leads to bad design which can have significant adverse consequences and result in poor decision making. Good survey design and survey process are essential if you want to get quality feedback
