Let's take the word FEEDBACK out of our conversations

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Christine Cuthbert, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Everything we do is a learning experience and there is more than just one way to do things. As leaders, let’s stop controlling everything! Every situation is unique; discovering what an employee did well should be the platform and start of a conversation we have. Then, lean into what could have been different in a less successful event, or a complete mess-up!

Here is how we can start the flow of a great discovery and learning conversation (feedback): (I don’t know a Jared, so I will use his name as an example)

1. What do you believe you did particularly well this week, Jared?

2. Why do you think it was a success for you?

3. What concerns popped up or you thought about that maybe you’d do differently?

4. What was the most challenging part for you?

5. Are there any aspects of the assignment/task you are less satisfied with?

6. Jared, I’m curious, how did you know or what led you to handle this assignment/task in this way?

7. Would you do anything different next time?

8. Do you think we should use your method and implement it with some of our other teammates?

Congratulations Jared, I’m excited that this assignment went well for you.

· Was this challenging enough for you?

· How much more can you take on in scenarios such as this one?

· Are you excited to take on more?

· Is there anything else you want to learn here?

· How else can I support you in tasks and assignments such as this one?

Are there any opportunities that have come up this past week in other tasks and assignments you wish to talk about that were more challenging or had a different outcome?

I’d like to talk about the “other assignment/task” you (and your team) tackled a few weeks ago. Did you get any direct responses or news yet of the outcome with the client and process?

1. The desired outcome was for_________ to happen. Do you think we achieved that?

2. What is the client challenged with?

3. Is there something else we could have done or implemented to improve our process and the users experience?

4. If we did this project (or sold this _____ again) what would you change in this implementation, sales, or process?

5. I heard the client showed concern for _______.

a. How do you think we could change their experience?

6. Do you think there is an opportunity for us to learn some new technology, skills or develop our knowledge here?

7. Who do you think on our team would be great candidates to develop here?

If you notice in either instance, a lot of questions were asked. There was no blame or shaming in either approach. There was no emotion, threats, or distractions. It was a genuine and truthful conversation to complement, and signal to the audience in the conversation that there was a concern with the client, but only after we thought we could do all we could. Once we established the employee and team handled everything to their best ability, a gentle nudge that the client felt a concern in their experience, was presented and a discussion started based on that discovery. And then we leaned into development of the staff and team.

If you walked into a conversation with your boss in this manor, wouldn’t you leave feeling fabulous upon leaving it? Everyone should leave a one-to-one or quarterly meeting conversation with a sense of accomplishment or development opportunities. It is how we work towards building strong, loyal and trusting teams that will out-perform your wildest dreams, making you and your business look like the best in the biz with big yelp or google reviews and returning customers.