Let's talk Feedback!

How ready are we and our organisations when it comes to receiving and providing #feedback?

How many times have you heard, yes, it’s good, BUT...I agree with you BUT...I think you are right BUT...

I love this one, I’m sorry BUT...Are you really sorry?

What I've learned with time is that anything that is followed by a BUT, completely invalids the other person’s point. It shows lack of respect and appreciation. Remember that feedback is supposed to be used as a basis for improvement, so, think about it twice before you give what you consider will be a constructive #feedback.

I guess what prompted this article was a situation I faced yesterday with my car service supplier. I was supposed to get the car back last Friday and today I’m still taking the train without knowing when I’m likely to get it back.

Being aware of my frustration, I prepared my #feedback before I called them up for the sixth or seventh time. At that point I was finally hoping to be able to get to them, help them improve their service and of course, get my car back. Yes, win-win. I made my point across in what I considered was an eloquent way, and guess what? The person behind the phone answered: Yes, we understand BUT...

You know, I strongly believe that I’m responsible for the results of my communications and interactions with people, which means that there is always a better way of doing things, specially if you are not achieving what you expect. This means that today I will try a different approach when delivering my #feedback. Let’s see how it goes. If it doesn’t work, I will be writing tomorrow about how to overcome failure or something along those lines. I’m only joking. I’ll keep on trying :-)

In the end, we are exposed to #feedback all the time, the more we interact, the more #feedback we get, so what if we decided to use each one of these opportunities to become better?

What if we learned how to give and receive #feedback in a way that actually helps us improve?

Remember, there is no failure, only feedback.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article written while commuting on the train this morning :-)

All the best,

Jose Luis Ucar

Excellence Coach at Finding Excellence