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Ja2

Statement

As noted in this week’s textbook chapter, employees are happier when they receive regular feedback (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010). Feedback takes many forms, but one of the most obvious types is feedback on performance. Managers must be able to give employees feedback on what they are doing well and areas where an employee needs to improve. Think about times in your career when you have received feedback. Consider if the feedback was specific, meaningful, relevant, and timely. Write a response that includes the following:

  • Share an example of a time when you received effective feedback that helped you improve your performance. What made that feedback helpful? Was it specific, meaningful, relevant, and/or timely? Discuss if you identify any other factors like the feedback provider’s personality, his/her value, or the situation that impacted your reaction/attitude towards the feedback process.
  • Share an example of a time when you received feedback that was not helpful. What made that feedback ineffective? Did it lack specificity, meaningfulness, relevance, and/or timeliness? Discuss if you identify any other factors like the feedback provider’s personality, his/her value, or the situation that impacted your reaction/attitude towards the feedback process.
  • As an aspiring manager, how could you use these lessons to improve the feedback you give employees?

Answer

Communication skills are essential for both managers and subordinates. To be able to transmit and receive information effectively to/from other team members is crucial for the overall success of the organization, the effectiveness of learning, and the reduction of conflicts or misunderstandings. Feedback is one important way of passing messages related to a specific thing that may be related to a person or the tasks they work on.

Despite being positive or negative; feedback should always be conceived as a good thing, as long as it does not undermine the person’s dignity or damage them emotionally, specifically in front of others. Positive feedback is a way to cheer up and charge for the next challenges, while negative feedback is a way to correct mistakes, sharpen skills, and accumulate knowledge.

Effective Feedback.

Effective feedback is specific and focuses on a certain aspect of the work performance, as general feedback is too broad to be followed. It is also meaningful and well-thought-through, as quickly-cooked feedback may backfire. It is also relevant to the current context as receivers may not have the full information related to feedback on something that happened a long time ago. Finally, effective feedback is timely, as it is given when the receiver is ready to receive it and act upon it.

Effective feedback should not ignore the personality and other factors and work attitudes of the receiver but should be tailored to fit them to extract the most out of the feedback process. For example, a person with low self-esteem may not be able to handle negative feedback as well as a person, so the feedback should be given carefully and accompanied by a dose of positive encouragement. It should also be objective and out of the provider’s personal feelings or values. For example, a person with high social monitoring may not be able to give accurate feedback to their subordinates as they may avoid confrontations (Carpenter et al., 2010).

As I worked as a software engineer; I received feedback from my manager on some of the tasks I did. The feedback was written as a note on a file in our code repository on a potential security vulnerability in my code. It was lengthy, informative, and specifically talked about how my code would lead to the vulnerability. It was with just enough details but also included links to relevant sources so that I could learn more. The feedback came at the right time just before my code went into production and caused issues to our users. It was also asynchronous, I had enough time to read and gather information then I responded with a fix.

Ineffective Feedback.

Ineffective feedback is usually just on the opposite side of the discussion above; it is general, with little information, and demonstrates that the provider did not put enough effort into it. It may given as a surprise without prior preparation. It tends to ignore the receiver completely, and the provider only focuses on themselves and what is best for them.

I remember I was once given feedback on the visual appeal of a web page that I worked on. It was a company-wide meeting and the topic was brought up randomly as a colleague shared their screen to show us something. I was called out by the manager in front of everyone and was told that this was bad and should not have gone into production. I was not prepared for feedback on this topic, which was done a long time ago; I felt this was a direct attack on me as I am an introvert; so I went into defensive mode. The feedback was not helpful and did not specify what was wrong with the page, or how it could be improved; I had a discussion with my manager about it before and he approved it because we were in a hurry for other things and he forgot that. I was frustrated, but I did not want tension so I accepted this as if it was my fault, although I knew it was not.

Lessons to improve the feedback you give employees.

As a manager, I would take the definition of effective and effective feedback into consideration. I would also gather as much information about the person and the task in question. I would also consider the receiver’s position and personality. Carpenter et al. (2010) and Caroline (2024) presented some important information about matching feedback to the employee’s personality; for example, open-mindedness, extroverts, and highly learning-focused people seek feedback and are more likely to get the most out of it. Extroverts like positive feedback in public and negative one privately, while introverts prefer to have them both in private. People with low self-esteem, introverts, and high social monitors like their feedback in an asynchronous way, so they can process it and gather information before responding or adjusting.

Winston (2023) also presented good advice for managers to get the most out of the feedback process. Managers should be objective in their feedback rely on metrics and data and void subjectiveness and personal opinions or feelings outside the process. Define standards for the feedback process and make a clear and documented organizational policy that everyone can follow and know what is expected from it. Introduce and standardize training programs for managers and employees about effective feedback and its importance. Gather information from all resources and people before giving feedback, and consider the personal growth of your employees when giving feedback.

Conclusion.

Feedback is always a good thing as long as it has enough quality and the person sending the feedback has thought it through. Just like any other human interaction, the way we perceive feedback and feedback on feedback depends on the personality, values, and context of the two persons as well as the organization’s policies and culture. As a manager, it is important to standardize and document the feedback process and culture within the organization; and when not sure about someone, avoid public feedback and prepare them in advance.

References

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