A renowned corporate figure shared an early experience as a young executive in Southeast Asia. He was working night and day on a report.
Upon presentation, his manager was unimpressed with his work. To drive his point, the manager went on to hit his colleague on the head with the printed report.
The young executive received the word. He acted and made alterations to the report.
Despite being a less-than-ideal form of feedback, it became a positive growth experience for the executive who went on to lead a major multinational organisation.
We all have similar stories, perhaps less or even more dramatic, throughout our personal, educational, and professional development.
We are all involved in growing others – as parents, siblings, colleagues, and as educators. As the world around us evolves, generally for the better, so should our way of providing feedback.
Many of us have not been trained on providing and receiving feedback. Or even having considered it a skill that requires time and thought. We encourage you to take a moment and reflect on how feedback is essential in your life.
There is an expression, “feedback is a gift.” However, organisations do pay for it.
Companies and other organisations seek feedback to improve their services, identify new opportunities to maximise their potential, and remain competitive in the market.
The survey industry is massive, offering in-depth analysis across various sectors. If large organisations find value in feedback, so should we.
Feedback is defined by Dr Margeret Bearman and her colleagues from Deakin University in Australia as a “dynamic and co-constructive interaction in the context of a safe and mutually respectful relationship, aimed at challenging a learner’s (and educator’s) ways of thinking, acting, or being to support growth.”
There are numerous benefits to giving structured, effective feedback. Studies have shown that effective feedback improves performance, motivation of learners, and teamwork.
Most importantly, it improves the experience of both the learner and the teacher. Feedback, when done effectively, can be transformed from an often dreaded experience for both parties into a positive one.
Several methods or structures can be used for feedback. In medical education, one example is ARTful feedback – Ask, Respond and Tell. The learner’s learning goals should be established.
In Ask, the learner is asked for a self-appraisal of the experience. In Respond, the teacher constructively responds to the learner’s comments. Powerful phrases, such as “that would have been difficult for anyone” or “let’s work on this together,” can further enhance the learning experience. Tell is when the teacher provides feedback on various aspects of the encounter to the learner. This can encompass scenarios, behaviours, and technical skills.
For effective feedback, there should be a shift in paradigm between the teacher and the learner. Learners are encouraged to take ownership by initiating and driving the feedback process.
Feedback should be valued as an essential part of growth through change and action, not a process that has to be endured as is. As a teacher, it should be learner-centred, aiming to meet the learners’ stated goals.
For feedback to be effective, a collaborative partnership should be formed, moving away from a more directive, unilateral interaction.
Using our earlier scenario as an example, the executive seeks feedback from his manager. The manager arranges a private meeting over coffee at his office. He requests a self-appraisal from the executive: “How do you think it went?” and “How do you think it can be better?”
After the appraisal, he provides direct feedback on the work. Words of affirmation are used: “I appreciate this is new to you,” or “this is how this can be done better next time.” They agreed on a plan of action to improve the quality of the executive’s reports.
In a world that has advanced in many ways, we can all be agents of change by being more deliberate and conscious of the feedback we provide and receive. We should strive to add value to the way we communicate and improve one another. We can make society better one constructive feedback at a time.
Dr Ahmad Hairi Halimi, Dr Ricardo Esper Treml and Prof Pedro Paulo Tanaka are from the Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
