By and large, we all accept that feedback between managers, subordinates and colleagues improves the way organizations function. We expect this opinion from the head of human resources. Even a nerdy technical executive like Bill Gates understands the wisdom of feedback.

But how do you make feedback happen? How do you make it more frequent and impactful? One employee survey across many organizations concluded that only one-third of employees received useful feedback from their manager/employer in the past six months. Our own research also confirms that conclusion. Giving feedback, especially corrective or redirecting input, appears to be the most challenging act leaders face.

Subordinates Say They Want More

The good news is feedback is usually well-received. Employees believe feedback helps to improve their performance and succeed in their role. This leads to the question, “What should leaders do to increase feedback in the culture of a firm?”

Improve Supply and Demand

Most organizations encourage managers to provide feedback to subordinates. Some force feedback to occur at least once a year via performance appraisals. About one-fifth of larger corporations train managers on the skills of giving feedback. These steps attempt to increase the supply of feedback at work.

But what if we worked equally energetically on the demand side of the equation? We all know from experience it is far easier to give someone information you think would be helpful to them if the person asks for your ideas. When a subordinate takes the initiative by asking, the manager is far more likely to step in and offer their perspectives in response. By overtly asking, the subordinate signals their receptivity. The act of asking for feedback removes most of the psychological barricades that prevent most managers from stepping up.

Encouraging Employees to Open the Spigot

Senior leaders need to send a strong message to everyone in the organization that feedback is a two-way street. Simply stating, “If you want more ideas from your boss about better ways to perform your job, suggestions about additional things you could or should be doing or how to fine-tune your approach, ask for feedback.” That step will open the spigot.

The second part of the message should be that employees can be active (instead of passive) recipients of feedback. They can take better advantage of feedback conversations. If their boss provides some useful ideas, they have the choice to end the conversation by saying, “Thank you” or they can fully mine the opportunity with questions such as:

  • Let me be sure I understand your suggestion. Can you give me some examples?
  • So what was it about what I did that was so helpful?
  • Do you see other opportunities for me to do more of that?
  • Are there any other observations about what I’m doing, not doing, or the manner that I go about doing things that would be helpful for me to know?

The serious employee will dive in and get the full benefit from any conversation like this.

Persuading Managers to Ask for Feedback

There is a powerful corollary to encouraging employees to ask for feedback. Managers should be encouraged to do exactly the same thing. Some may be thinking, “But managers give feedback – they don’t ask for feedback.” Consider the following benefits of managers asking for feedback:

  • It clearly elevates them in the eyes of their subordinates. A few managers fear that seeking feedback might diminish their position in the eyes of their staff. But research says the opposite. Two Harvard Business School professors, Brook and Gino, conducted experiments that clearly demonstrated that by asking other’s advice doubled the perception of the competence of the person who asked. Zenger Folkman research reaffirms that conclusion.
  • It enables the manager to set the example, both for the willingness to ask, but especially to set the example about how people should respond.
  • It sends a message to others in the organization that the manager respects them and genuinely seeks their opinions about important issues.
  • In a recent study of 51,896 leaders, those who ranked at the bottom 10 percent in regards to asking for feedback ranked at 15 percent in overall leadership effectiveness. On the other hand, leaders who ranked at the top 10 percent in asking for feedback were on average, at the 86th percentile in effectiveness.

There’s no “one way” to ask for feedback.

  • For example, it can be the approach that former New York City Mayor Ed Koch used as he walked about town. He would ask people, “How am I doing?” For him, that worked.
  • It can be as casual as the manager asking the team, “What did you like about our meeting today?” Then after hearing a few comments, ask “What would you change to make our meetings even better?”
  • It can be a bold statement, “So tell me something you suspect I don’t know and probably don’t want to hear.”

Eradicating Blind Spots

One of the important benefits to asking for and receiving feedback is that it causes blind spots to fade away. We all have some behaviors that we don’t recognize, but everyone around us sees them quite clearly. Often those behaviors are getting in our way of greater success.

A few years ago, Zenger Folkman did a study to see how well individuals could predict their own weaknesses and strengths. The conclusion was quite unexpected. The results showed others were twice as accurate at predicting weaknesses and strengths as the individual. The poorest leaders overrated their effectiveness while the best leaders underrated.

Conclusion

The advantage of receiving feedback is much like the advantage you gain from a GPS device as opposed to a foldable map. Both provide directions about where you want to go. The GPS, however, provides the directions in the context of an accurate assessment of where you currently are. The GPS also uses four different satellites to determine that location. Likewise, feedback should not just come from one source in order to be the most accurate.

The most robust way for managers to seek feedback is through a 360-degree feedback process where feedback instruments are made available to subordinates, peers and management. This approach guarantees anonymity and confidentiality and covers a wide range of topics that provide extremely valuable information to the leader.

About the author

Jack Zenger is co-founder and chief executive officer of Zenger Folkman. He is an expert in the field of leadership development and is a highly respected and sought after speaker, author and executive coach. Joe Folkman is cofounder and president of Zenger Folkman. He is a respected authority on assessment and change, bestselling author, and an acclaimed keynote speaker.

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