Your reflection
We all agree that our personal development and feedback is vital, but where we’re not aligned is frequency. And frankly, that’s OK, you’ve got to do what’s best for you and your organization.
But what we all really need to agree on is that this should not be an annual exercise.
You certainly don’t wait once a year to look at your financials and other business objectives. Therefore you should prioritise your leadership development just as you do your other goals and review making improvements just as frequently.
360 Feedback
You’ve got your leadership development goals set, and you’re regularly reflecting. Now it’s time to get feedback from those you’ve been interacting with.
Let’s start by acknowledging that the 360 feedback process can be complex. For example, some team members have difficulty offering honest feedback about their managers. But suppose you’re genuinely working on fostering an open and honest culture all year round. In that case, this process will become easier over time.
Depending on your organisation’s ways of working, 360 feedback may be done openly or anonymously. It may be done in writing or face to face. I’m taking this from the perspective of it being open, which means face to face or in writing can be easily interchanged depending on the preference/standard.
Even if your organisation has an open and transparent culture, giving feedback to a superior may not be easy for everyone. Therefore, writing should always be there as an option.
Conversations in person are my preference, but there’s also the need for documenting the actions for your actual appraisal and follow up.
The questions!
One of the reasons why giving feedback can be difficult is it’s left too open. Team members are then unsure what angle to take, therefore what you receive is not always helpful to your development. So set some guidance.
When asking for feedback, you should be specific.
It helps if you start off by acknowledging areas you think need improvement. A good leader should be self-aware, and this is you actively working towards becoming a better leader.
To give you a start, I’ve highlighted 9 top areas with questions and additional points for you to think about.
But remember, your development is unique to you, so these questions can be adapted to your team, peers or manager as required.
Ask Your Team
1. Support – Please share something I do that does not feel supportive?
The aim is to understand where you’re helping and hindering.
For example, was there an opportunity to sponsor a team member, helping them progress in their career? How did you support your team to achieve their personal and professional goals, e.g. creating mentoring opportunities with others in your network? How well do you know your team members?
2. Recognition – What aspects of our team recognition should we never lose.
Are you giving recognition genuinely and as frequently as required? Are you openly thanking your team and celebrating wins big and small? Is this a firm part of your team culture? Keep in mind that global studies have shown recognition is the number one thing managers can do to inspire their teams.
3. Transparency – What area of the business would you like more information to make doing your job easier?
More and more team members view transparency as a highly desirable leadership trait. Therefore, there is no need for a small number of people to hold and control information. So think, is a piece of information really confidential, e.g. linked to individuals personal information? Or am I not sharing because of trust issues? If it’s the later, how do I work with the team to resolve this?
Ask Your Peers
1. Communication – What information can I start sharing to make it easier for us to work together?
Are you learning to adapt your style as you interact with different teams? Is your communication simple enough that information is easily digestible by the data team and the marketing team? Are you sharing your learnings and best practices?
2. Stakeholders – What specific areas of a (specific) project would you like me to continue focusing on with the team in the next period?
Have you made the purpose and direction of your team clear to the broader organisation? What actions have you been taking to help build your team’s profile? Have you been connecting with the relevant stakeholders?
3. Hierarchy – Are there any actions/processes I set slowing down your direct work with the team.
How do you interpret and therefore practice your team your responsibility? Are you letting your team lead where appropriate? Are you leading with sufficient context and not relying on control?
Ask Your Line Manager
Your line manager will be giving feedback, but also think about areas that you really don’t want to be glossed over. If these areas don’t come up in the conversation, don’t miss the opportunity to ask.
1. Personal development – Is there an area within my remit that I should delegate more?
Has your delegation stepped up while you maintained accountability?
Have you used your increased capacity for additional learning? Which area do you think you made the most significant strides in? Would actions are you taking to aid your development, e.g. working with a coach or mentor.
2. Inclusiveness: Were there any incidents where I could have sought the perspective of a more diverse mix of people?
Are you proactive about your learning journey and understanding your blind spots? Have you been advocating upward for effective change within your organisation?
3. Impact – Which of my decisions do you think had the most impact outside of my team?
Did you make new hires, and have they successfully integrated? After unsuccessful coaching and retraining, did you have to let go of a poor performer? What decisions around people and culture had a clear positive impact?
Receiving feedback
Now that you’ve asked for specific feedback in the 360 process don’t fall at the next hurdle. Many make a mistake in not acknowledging the input and taking no action. Colleagues have taken the time to provide feedback, so don’t make it a pointless exercise. Worst yet, don’t have a visibly adverse reaction.
If you strongly disagree, don’t be defensive.
Your first reaction shouldn’t be, “well, that’s not the kind of information I was looking for.”
Receive the feedback gracefully.
Try “thanks for sharing that; it’s interesting how we both viewed that situation. Let me give a bit of insight into why I took that approach. I’ll consider how this comes across when doing it next time.”
If it really stung, feel OK saying, “oh, that was not easy to hear but I’m glad you felt comfortable with me, to be honest.” Remember, you’re working on building an open and honest relationship, so sometimes, you may hear things that are not easy.
There is, of course, a line of common respect within all communication that should be observed.
Consider it genuinely and understand what aspects you should act on. Showing that you take the feedback seriously does not mean that you have to act on every point received. If you did that for every piece of feedback ever received, you’d run into trouble.
Follow up with your team and colleagues when actions have been taken. Receiving the feedback gracefully and saying thanks is step one. Taking relevant actions and following up with your team and colleagues is a solid next step.
Don’t forget to celebrate!
Now you’ve now compared your responses to theirs? How does it stack up? Which of your development areas did you excel at? Remember getting feedback, just like giving it, is about looking at what’s been done well and taking action where necessary.
You’ve taken an important step and made the time for introspection and being proactive about becoming a better leader! And for that, well done to you.
Have you reviewed your leadership for the past year? What area are you excelling at, and what are you planning to actively work on next?
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