Sunday, February 19, 2017

How to Close the Feedback Gaps

The quality of feedback is dependent on the QUALITY of feedback giver.


Nobody is perfect, we should always self-aware, strengthen our strength and improve our weakness. We need always to welcome the constructive feedback which helps improve our professional growth and personal maturity. However, how can you discern which feedback is constructive, and how can you bridge the feedback gaps in order to shape the growth mindset and achieve professional advancement effortlessly?


The feedback gaps are perhaps caused by the quality of feedback givers: The quality of feedback giver is crucial to the quality of feedback being given. The quality is about the person’s reputation, cognition, character, integrity, insight, and intention., etc. Those who give negative feedback on correctly assessing your flaws should receive your gratitude and respect. However, those who give negative feedback based on ignorance, misinformation, misjudgment, or even rumors, envy or revenge, earn the scorn and contempt.  As a feedback giver, you should take the responsibility of the words you say, and at the positive business atmosphere, those negative intentions or misjudgment nee to be discouraged or even penalized in order to build a healthy working environment and create a culture of learning and innovation. From a wrong person via unprofessional manner, it becomes "destructive," so you may "ignore" it. The quality of feedback also depends on which emotional status both sender and receiver have at the moment. So, there is a responsibility for both parties to consider the intention and attitude of sending and receiving. You do not have to say everything you feel, as a potential sender, as the old saying goes, it’s not just about what you say, but how you say it matters. As a receiver, the responsibility is to try to understand the sender’s intention, pay more attention to those destructive criticisms with negative intentions, and applying wisdom to handle them in a positive and intelligent way.


The feedback gaps are also possibly caused by homogeneous team setting: When people are too “fit in,” they think the same and act the same, without challenging each other’s point of view; and often make the compromise to be the “team player,”  it’s no surprise that the feedback gaps are enlarged, people are used to getting stuck in the comfort zone, with change inertia. The feedback gaps can only be closed when the working environment is diverse, dynamic, energetic, and innovative; there is an integration of thinking, learning and doing, people enjoy the creative tension and constructive feedback. Not to have critics might make your path easy, but you might not be able to explore your true potential. From a business management perspective, lack of effective feedback management will deepen the functional gaps and create the barriers to improving the organizational maturity.
Bridging feedback gaps can help people become more self-aware and self-motivating: Constructive critics are like a mirror, it not only shows our lacuna but also gives an alert of forthcoming challenges we are facing. The best thing about negative feedback with positive intention is that it calls to make a person much more self-aware and can fuel professional progress and personal growth. Accept feedback that is truthful and accurate, constructive with good intention. If there are only well-wishers, they could be blind followers or flatterers too. The leaders or digital professionals can actively learn to better improve self through requested criticism. If the intent is to help the person grow, and the information is given with empathy and as a conversation, it can be helpful. When it is given in a critical tone and with no opportunity for real communication, then it is only destructive or distracting. Always understand the context besides content, and always capture the insight and wisdom from the constructive feedbacks.


So close the feedback gaps via in-depth understanding about the quality of feedback givers, the intention of messages, and the insight about its content and context; and treat feedback as information and their perception, but you have the choice what story you put to it. The excellent feedback gives you accurate information to improve; great questions to self-aware; positive intention to change, and keen insight to help you grow and mature at the faster pace.

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