“Feedback is important!” – We’ve all heard this before. It’s an old adage.
I guess we also agree that feedback without any following actions is not only useless but demotivating. People will learn very quickly that “giving Feedback” is obviously useless and thus will not give feedback anymore. – End of Feedback culture.
Recently, I’ve realized it’s not enough to just derive actions. You also need to give feedback on the feedback. Uh what? Exactly, you need to let people know if something has been done or not. Otherwise – from their perspective – the feedback didn’t cause any change. It’s simply not relevant that YOU know that something changed – THEY need to know.
Theoretical example: Assume I give feedback to someone in a different department, suggesting an improvement. Fine. The improvement may or may not take place. If I don’t hear back about my suggestion or do not see any impact, I assume my feedback was ignored (which might not be true). To me, it feels like no action was taken. Will I give feedback or a suggestion again? I doubt. – Even if the suggestion was declined, it would be great to know that it was discussed (and thus valued!) and rejected for some reason.
Practical example: In one of our relatively long projects, I consistently provided feedback – constructive, friendly, sometimes a bit passionate (okay, very passionate). Eventually, I noticed my feedback was being heard and acted upon.
This kind of response is incredibly motivating! However, it’s crucial to remain constructive, friendly, and empathetic. After all, we are dealing with people who, for the most part, are just trying to do their jobs.