feedback, the lynch pin a good team

Peer Feedbackthe lynch pin of a healthy team

Chris Dagenais

Introduction

Chris DagenaisPoint2 / Yardi Systems Inc.

Director – Point2 Development12 years in the industry

Twitter: @mdchrisEmail: mdchris@gmail.com

Foundation

• Just like any other relationship, a healthy team is built on a foundation of good communication

• Poor communication is an infection that will slowly rot away the dynamic of your team

• Good communication will strengthen the foundation allowing you build from there

Team Dynamics

• Have you worked on a team before?• Ever wanted somebody to change their

behaviour but didn’t feel like you could?• Ever been told to change something about

how you act in a way you didn’t appreciate?

Perception

• Managing how you are perceived is a full time job at your full time job…

• Perception rarely matches intention, especially if you aren’t mindful of it

Perception

Common Perceptions Mismatches

• If you interrupt people often– Intention: you want to make sure you’re idea get listened to

and you feel you have interrupt people or you never get a chance to talk

– People perceive that you don’t care about or value what they have to say

• If you regularly show up late for meetings– Intention: People regularly stop you as you walk by and you

want to always be helpful so you always stop for a couple minutes to help them

– People perceive that you don’t respect them or their time

Common Perception Mismatches

• When you argue about everything that wasn’t your idea and won’t compromise– Intention: You have a lot of ideas and very passionately

believe that they are the best option– People perceive that you think you know everything and

care far more about yourself than the team• When you make jokes about and belittle the skills of

others on the team– Intention: you’re trying to be funny– People perceive that you are arrogant, insensitive, and

uninterested in helping other team members grow.

Managing Perceptions

• Feedback is a great way to manage perceptions

• Giving feedback to share your perceptions with someone

• Requesting feedback to check that someone’s perceptions match your intentions

Supervisor Feedback

• Important to know how your boss thinks you’re doing

• You might respect the feedback, or might just feel obligated to act on it

• Often considered a burden rather than a privilege

Peer Feedback

• Peers have no “obligation” to give you feedback

• Lack of obligation makes it more sincere and powerful

Giving Feedback

• “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain…and most fools do” – Dale Carnegie

• Feedback should address behavior, not the person• It should be specific• It should be timely• Own your feedback, don’t wish-wash• Understand that it is only feedback, the other

person is not obligated to do anything other than listen.

Receiving Feedback

• Listen to the feedback. No…really.• Remain open minded• Don’t interrupt the person, it’s likely already

hard for them• Ensure that you understand what they are

telling you, it’s ok to ask clarifying questions to make sure

• Remind yourself the feedback is addressing a behaviour

Conflict

• The reason people avoid giving feedback• Lack of skill delivering or receiving feedback

can cause conflict, leading to less feedback in the future

Bad feedback examples

• You talk too much in meetings• People don’t seem to like you• Your PRDC session was ok but could use some

work• People complain about your attendance

Good feedback examples

• I thought your SDEC session would have been better if you made smoother transitions between sub-topics. It seemed to jump around which made it harder for me to follow.

• In that meeting we just had there were several instances where I tried to voice my opinion but couldn’t because you raised your voice a bit every time I tried to talk. When that happens it makes me feel like you don’t care about what I have to say.

Lets get this train moving!

• Ask your peers for feedback!• You’re much more likely to get feedback if

people know you want it

Action Plan

• Describe to your team the benefits of good feedback

• Propose your plan for regularly scheduled feedback sessions going forward

Action Plan – Step 1

• Moderated weekly sessions– Moderated by a trusted 3rd party– Scheduled, not optional– 2 pieces of positive and 2 of constructive feedback

must be delivered– No response is allowed, only clarifying questions

Action Plan – Step 2

• Feedback sessions are still moderated• Sessions are scheduled based on peers

specifying a specific person to give feedback to

• Still recommend no responses

Action Plan – Step 3

• Team members will start randomly asking for a feedback session with a specific individual

Action Plan – Step 4

• Team members voluntarily give each other valuable feedback without needing a moderator to feel comfortable

Why Feedback?

• What if we help our peers improve and they leave?

• What if we don’t and they stay!

Why Feedback

• Promotes open communication• Open communication is the foundation of

trust• Improve respect level among teams• Help people understand how their actions are

perceived

Wrapping Up

• Good communication is the foundation of your team

• Being mindful of how you are perceived is critical

• Nothing helps your team stay healthy like regular honest constructive feedback!