BRX Pro Tip: Honest, Useful Feedback
Stone Payton: And we’re back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, feedback is so important. But let’s talk a little bit about honest and useful feedback.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. When I did Seth Godin’s altMBA, this was an important component of it. Every one of us who was in the cohort was responsible for giving actual feedback to other people, no matter what activity we were doing every week.
Lee Kantor: And they gave us a book that was called Thanks for the Feedback. I don’t remember who wrote it, but that’s the title. And we had to read that before we started the cohort, and it explained how to give honest, useful feedback. And we weren’t allowed to just say, “Great job.” And that’s usually what most people’s feedback are, you know, thumbs up or something like that, where it just says, “You know, I like that.”
Lee Kantor: You had to give feedback that was actionable. And the most polite and the most valuable feedback you can give someone isn’t that kind of thumbs up or “great job.” It has to be useful. And real feedback builds people, not their ego.
Lee Kantor: When you’re honest with care and precision, you’re going to create some clarity, and that clarity is going to accelerate the person’s growth. And that’s important because when you’re giving feedback, focus on the contribution, not criticism. Ground your feedback in the intent. I’m saying this to help you win, not to prove that I’m right.
Lee Kantor: You really have to be kind of an unbiased observer. You can’t bring your own biases into the situation when you’re giving feedback. You really want to help people feel that you’re there, trying to help them. You’re not, you know, kind of trying to sabotage them or kill their dreams.
Lee Kantor: The more specific you are, the better. Do more of this, or maybe less of that. Don’t just kind of give your opinion but give some direction.
Lee Kantor: Remember, good feedback is a two-way door. It invites perspective back your way. When feedback flows in both directions, and then you can create a dialog, then the trust is going to compound, and so does performance.
Lee Kantor: So, the next time you’re tempted to dodge an uncomfortable truth, reframe it. You’re not delivering a judgment. You’re offering really a gift; something that’s going to help the other person see what they couldn’t see before.
Lee Kantor: So, it’s really important to be mindful about giving honest, useful feedback. It’s a valuable tool for you and your team. And it’ll help each of you kind of get better and become the best you can be.
