Four Weeks to Fantastic Feedback: Week III: Jump Into Feedback Conversations

No matter how much you feel you still aren’t ready, NOW is the time to start your conversations. Try to talk with half of your team members this week! If you can’t do half, get in as many as you can.

Why talk to several the same week? This is a change for them, and the buzz will go out immediately after your first feedback conversation. Everyone will be asking their co-workers “Have you had your feedback meeting yet?”

The good news is that they are likely to say “It wasn’t bad at all,” and, “I liked what we talked about—both positive feedback and negative.” A big surprise is likely to be your willingness to listen to their feedback.

If there is only one person who has received feedback this week, they won’t have a pal to validate their experience and your buzz will be more guarded.

The positive buzz (or at least not too negative buzz) is out, you can even try to advance your schedule a bit. If you have an open thirty minutes tomorrow, talk to one of people you have scheduled for next week and see if they are ready to go tomorrow.

Review your priorities for each person & think COIN Just last week you figured out some fruitful topics for each person. Now take those topics and review in your own mind what to say, based on the four COIN feedback musts. Don’t take a written script into your meetings, but make sure you remember to cover all four COIN topics:

Connect—Set the context based on a shared goal. Some examples:

—We talked about you becoming team lead on the next project…

—Since our team is focused now on screening sales leads…

Observations—What specifically have you noticed about their behavior or performance? Some examples:

—Several team members told me how much you coached them on the new system…

—I’m seeing in the monthly report that your sales haven’t included any of our new products…

Impact—Explain what business consequences occurred as a result of what you observed: Some examples:

—Because you ran a tight agenda and actively facilitated the meeting, we got all our decisions made and left with a great follow-up plan.

—Not focusing on big customers like Wilson Group creates risks. Wilson may end their contract.

Next steps—Suggest specific steps they can take to improve or leverage their impact

—I suggest setting up a meeting with Chris, who has a system for screening leads to focus on.

—When you make these kinds of presentations, pause in the beginning to explain the big picture of what we’re trying to accomplish and why.

—Since your approach to this issue is working so well, let’s have you describe your steps to the group as a best practice.

Ask for feedback back, and LISTEN After you’ve gone through COIN and made sure to answer questions along the way, ask each person for their feedback to you:

—What can I do to support your development in these areas?

—How can I improve the ways I set goals, handle meetings, and communicate with you guys?

Then listen, repeat what they say, and visibly write down what you need to remember. This is not a good time to argue or defend your own behavior.

You are transforming your team culture! These conversations are the doorway into a whole new future of great improvements, better relationships, and higher-impact leadership on your part!

Learn More

Read The Feedback Imperative for more information on how to give great feedback!