Feedback is often misunderstood - it's not personal criticism.
By Mikkel Norqvist, Co-founder, Feedwork
We live in a society that constantly encourages us to improve and optimize. We need to perform better in less time and with less cost. But how do you do that if you don't know where you can improve? Danes are far too touchy-feely when it comes to giving each other feedback. We avoid it because we don't like confrontation.
But why is this? Why do we become so conflict-averse when it comes to the more in-depth feedback that doesn't just involve an enthusiastic high-five?
With a background in the military and as an elite athlete, I know just how important it is to be able to give and receive feedback in a constructive way.
As a team, you're never stronger than your weakest, and that saying is especially true in the workplace. But it's hard to get better if you're not made aware of the areas that can be improved. That's why I founded Feedwork with my business partner, and for the past year we've been working on feedback culture in some of the largest companies in Denmark.
Danes need to get better at handling feedback. It needs to become a natural part of everyday life and a greater focus point in companies. Introducing a healthy feedback culture in the workplace can have huge benefits. Not only does it increase wellbeing and motivation, but it can actually be seen on the bottom line. For example, around 30% of Danish employees change jobs every year, but you can reduce that number by almost 15% with regular feedback. Calculations show that it saves almost DKK 10,000 per employee per year.
But a good feedback culture doesn't just happen - it needs to be nurtured and prioritized. And most importantly, it needs to be demystified and made tangible. Instead of annual appraisals, which are ineffective and insufficient, we should implement daily or weekly feedback. Very few people take the points from the annual conversation home with them and work through everything. Instead, ongoing feedback would make it more palatable.
According to Stanford professor Clifford Nass, the average employee can't handle more than one criticism a day, but why not take each criticism into your own hands and decide what it should be about? This can be done by asking for feedback more often and taking responsibility for your own development.
Feedback is often misunderstood. It's not personal criticism. It's a tool to improve and optimize performance at home, at work or anywhere else, and we all need to embrace it. We need to ask for feedback much more - and dare to get better.
Link: https://www.business.dk/debat/konfliktsky-ledelse-skaber-medarbejderflugt
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