We’re often asked when and how to ask for feedback from colleagues. Here’s a short video and a summary below.
1. When to ask for feedback
You may be wondering if there is a right time to ask for feedback. Of course, it’s always the right time!
But seriously, there are some specific times where the view of others are really useful.
First there is where you have a formal performance discussion with your line manager or team leader. This would also apply to a conversation about your career plans and your future professional development. Now your manager’s feedback is important, but additional background feedback from other colleagues can provide a more rounded view of how you have been performing, and what your development needs might be.
This also applies to regular check-in conversations, where some quick, informal input can be very useful too.
Second, it’s good to ask for views after completing a project or an event. Or if it’s a big project that goes on for a long time, say a year or more. This could also be for a piece of work you have done with people you don’t normally work with, for example, in different areas of the business. Feedback about a particular project can be very useful and can offer some great insights that can help you improve and perform even better on the next project.
Third, if you’ve been able to add value to a project, a meeting or an event, over and above what you do in your day job, this is also a great opportunity to ask for input.
Of course, you don’t want to be looking for their opinion every time you see someone, or about everything you do in your job. This might seriously annoy your colleagues!
2. Motivational versus detailed views
Remember we’re not talking about when you’re getting a high five from a colleague to say ‘great presentation, Jack!’. Of course this is great motivation, but it’s not very helpful from a learning point of view. Really valuable views are specific, detailed and leads to action.
3. What do I say when I ask for input?
I’ve found in my experience, if you just say ‘please give me some feedback’, people don’t really respond well to that. They may say that they don’t have any to give. Therefore your request needs to be more specific, to help the person understand what you want.
For example, you could say: ‘I would love your views on the report that I put together for XYZ project’. You could add ‘I’d like to know what you thought of the report. Was there anything that was particularly useful or informative for you?’. This will direct them to what you’re looking for, and because it is focused on a positive, they are likely to give you their input. Then ask ‘Is there anything I could have done better, that would have made the report better?’. Because you have opened this part of the conversation, they will be more honest and open about this too – giving you some valuable data for improvement.
Further questions to ask would be ‘tell me more about that…’ or ‘can you give me some (more) examples’.
This makes the overall conversation more focused, and also a two-way discussion.
4. Whose feedback is most valuable?
Different colleagues have different viewpoints and different working relationships with you. All views are valuable. The extent of the value depends on the type of input you’re looking for.
So your boss will be able to give you good data on how you’re achieving your goals, and how successfully you are navigating the organisation and your career path. She will also be in a great place to suggest development opportunities.
Peer views are slightly different. Your peers are not so concerned or aware of your goals or delivery. What they experience and value are what you are like to work in a team of peers; this might include things like how well you share information, how you build trust with them, and how you deal with difficult situations within the peer group.
Your team of direct reports – the people you lead, and who report to you – are looking out for a different set of skills from you. These include what you are like as a leader and manager, how you motivate and support them, how effectively you delegate, whether everyone in the team is treated the same, and with respect.
5. What are the best requesting channels?
Informal feedback from someone you work closely with is best asked face to face. It builds on your relationship forms part of the conversations you have from time to time.
Email also works well if you want a bit more detail. In this way you have views in writing, if it needs to be more formal. You can then take the input to a performance or appraisal discussion.
Your organisation may also have a process and tool for getting views from colleagues, like a 180 or 360 Degree. This type of tool provides a fast and easy way of getting input, usually in the form of a questionnaire with rated questions and written comments. This helps to put all your colleagues’ views together to give you their combined insights into their experience of working with you. This works well for development or performance discussions too.
6. What do you do when you get feedback?
Many of us don’t ask for feedback because we worry about what happens when we get it!
Marshall Goldsmith*, a fantastic coach and writer, in his book ‘What Got You Here Won’t Get You There’, talks about the importance of colleagues’ views for moving on in your career. He says, whatever input you get, say ‘thanks’…then shut up!
Now when we get brilliant feedback, of course, it’s a bit easier. We say ‘thanks a lot!’ and we feel great. But if we get views that are bit critical, not wholly positive, or not what we expect, we all feel a bit taken aback. We do our best to say ‘thanks…’, but then we have a tendency to follow that with…’but’. For example, I hear ‘Jo, you seemed a bit unprepared for that meeting’. My instant response might be ‘thanks for your views…but I didn’t have much time and the client didn’t send all the information through’.
This isn’t a helpful approach, for either me or my colleague. I will be mentally dismissing his input, and he will feel dismissed and probably won’t give me (useful) input again.
Therefore the best approach is to appreciate the feedback, acknowledge it and then stay quiet. If you get more practice you may add ‘I will really think about what you’ve said, and try to use it to make a change…’.
Feedback can be a great gift. I hope this blog has given you some hints for getting better information from colleagues, more frequently and with better quality.
This text is a summary of the video. Please watch the video for more detailed points.
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