Feedback is a gift!

Someone said to me recently, 'Aileen, feedback is a gift'.

Overcoming my initial reaction to take this as an open invitation to keep on giving, while forgiving the sage for obviously not knowing me very well, I then reflected and wondered if it wasn't just a teensy bit facetious. And, perhaps they know me better than I thought?

Whatever the intent (in reality it's likely to have been a throw-away comment not meant to cause long deliberation), it got me thinking.

Feedback, I have found, is like comedy. It's all in the… …. ….. ..timing. Too long? That's a rhetorical question – no need for actual feedback!

Joking aside, in practice the balance of giving and receiving feedback at work is something many of us probably find challenging. But, given the right balance it provides a fundamental framework in which we can all thrive in the workplace.

Constructive feedback

Providing constructive feedback is the key to helping employees meet expectations and challenge themselves professionally. When delivered well, it has the potential to enhance performance, build team cohesion and improve morale.

Constructive feedback, unlike praise and criticism which can both be viewed as personal opinion, should be:

• information-specific;

• issue-focused; and

• based on observations.

Ken Blanchard, author of 'The one minute manager', declared

'Feedback is the breakfast of champions'.

Now, I'm not sure I'd go that far but, as colleagues, we can all help create a more positive workplace by the way we give and receive feedback. Perhaps if we did embrace it as a gift, something to be valued, we'd take more care with the wrapping and more of the positive from it.