How to Enhance Team Feedback Sessions

Last week I mentioned implementing programs like "Food for Thought" to encourage brainstorming and outside-the-box thinking, as it relates to creating a culture of communication and feedback. Before the pandemic, I used to bring in breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack and call the meeting Food for Thought where I would get feedback from the team on what is going well and what are the opportunities for improvement. Here are some ideas to incorporate this in a #hybridworkforce: ✅ Virtual Coffee Chats: Schedule virtual coffee sessions where team members can gather online and have casual conversations. This informal setting encourages open discussions and allows for sharing ideas and feedback. ✅ Collaborative Document Sharing/ Online Idea Forums: Utilize collaborative document-sharing tools such as Google Docs or Microsoft Teams to encourage real-time collaboration. Team members can contribute their ideas, provide feedback, and collectively work on projects or problem-solving tasks. ✅ Virtual Brainstorming Sessions: Conduct virtual brainstorming sessions using video conferencing tools. Facilitate interactive discussions where team members can share their ideas and engage in creative problem-solving exercises. ✅ Surveys and Polls: Use online survey tools to gather feedback from team members on specific topics or projects. Surveys can be anonymous to ensure open and honest responses, and the results can be shared and discussed during team meetings. ✅ Virtual Team Building Activities: Organize virtual team-building activities that encourage collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving. These activities can include virtual escape rooms, online trivia games, or team challenges that promote communication and thinking outside the box. Remember, the key is to provide opportunities for active participation and engagement, regardless of the physical location of team members. By embracing technology and fostering a culture of open communication, you can create a collaborative environment conducive to generating new ideas and seeking feedback. Which idea do you like the most? #hybridsales #communication #culture #hybridwork

Even as a labeled “high-performer,” impromptu meetings with my boss used to give me mad anxiety. Am I going to hear praise, or am I going to be fired? Rational? No. My fault? Well, not entirely. There was inconsistency in delivery. It comes down to making sure your team members ALWAYS know where they stand and where they're headed! Sounds easy enough, right? Then why isn’t everyone doing it? Because if it sounds to easy - it becomes easy to put off. And that’s where folks fall short. Here's the deal: if your team is underperforming, anxious, or caught off guard by performance reviews, it's a massive red flag that something's not right in your approach. But here's the good news: it doesn't have to be that way! Here are 5 ways we ensure our people know where they stand and where they're headed: 1) We make our 1:1s count. These aren't just another meeting to check off the list - they're sacred time dedicated to diving deep, providing guidance, and exchanging meaningful feedback. We create a space where transparency and trust can thrive, and it shows in our results. (And we rarely - if ever - need to cancel.) 2) We don't believe in surprises. Our performance management tool allows for ongoing feedback loops throughout the year. This means our team always knows exactly where they excel and where they need to focus their growth. 3)We harness the power of collaboration by encouraging peer feedback. Leaning on the insights of those in the trenches with us, we build a true team mentality and build each other up. (Plus, your high-performers will feel like they found buried treasure with all of the extra insights into their performance.) 4) We make feedback a two-way street. We make it insanely easy for team members to seek out feedback on their work (directly and anonymously). We've created a culture where everyone feels empowered to ask for input and use it to level up. 5)We lead by example. Feedback is woven into the fabric of our company culture, starting at the top. This creates a ripple effect of growth, support, and recognition throughout the team. And here's the kicker: our senior leadership team is all in on the success of every single team member. When your leaders are bought in and actively involved in your development, it's a game-changer. You feel valued, supported, and driven to give your best every single day. Leaders: if you're ready to take your team's performance to the next level and create a culture that breeds success, steal this page from our playbook. And if you’re that anxious person carrying around uncertainty: Right now, ask for specific feedback. Then give some feedback. Be the example. Keep killing it.

At Uber, one of the best things I did to help level up my team was run a weekly retro meeting. It's simple—you ask each team member 3 questions: → What went well? → What didn't go well? → What will we do differently in the future? This weekly restrospective helped us: 1. Break teams out of “Silos” 2. Improve team communication 3. Proactively address problems 4. Create tighter feedback loops 5. Share insights & scale learnings 6. Establish a forum to celebrate wins 7. Create action plans to handle issues P.S. How do you scale “learning” at your startup?

As business leaders, we understand the importance of gathering customer insights to enhance their experience. But let's remember the incredible value within your internal team. Years ago, I was an executive for a company that had a software solution to do just this.  I think we too often focus on our customers without focusing on one’s internal team.  I was reminded of this recently after I completed several meetings with groups of managers across our pharmacy and customer service teams.  There were a ton of new and innovative ideas as well as general areas of improvement.   Here are a couple of easy cultural habits to collect feedback across your organization, including: ✅ Regular Check-ins: Establish a culture of open communication through regular check-ins and team meetings. Encourage feedback and provide a platform for expressing opinions and ideas.  For example, company-wide town halls are a great way to do this. ✅ Anonymous Surveys: Create opportunities for anonymous surveys to encourage honest and unbiased feedback. This allows employees to share their thoughts without fear of repercussions.  You can buy software for this or even use free solutions from Survey Monkey or Google Forms. ✅ Team Meetings: Conduct periodic team focus groups, or “skip-level” (meaning skipping the team member’s boss) one-on-one interviews. This ensures that different communication preferences and comfort levels are accommodated. ✅ Actionable Insights: Actively listen to the feedback received and take action. Communicate transparently about the outcomes and the steps being taken to address any concerns raised. Remember, that your internal team is the backbone of your organization. Listening to your team as much as your customers is a great way to find innovative, issues, as well as to reinforce your cultural values.  #EmployeeEngagement #InternalTeamFeedback #ListeningCulture #ContinuousImprovement

There is one fundamental step that helps turn criticism into constructive feedback. Before launching into a grievance or explaining to someone what they did wrong, gather your thoughts and your intentions, and then Set the Table. Setting the Table Tell the recipient that you have some feedback you’d like to share and ask them when they have a few minutes for the discussion. The invitation helps to frame the situation before getting into the details, and the request itself gives the other party agency and choice. They can shift their focus and their energy and tell you that now would be fine, or they can acknowledge something else that is pressing or distracting that must be completed first. Either way, they are now part of the decision to engage rather than feeling like an unprepared target. As the provider of the feedback, this simple act of setting the table also helps you to soften your approach and become appropriately vulnerable to the dialogue as well. Rather than continuing the conversation that you’ve been playing out in your head or catching the other person off-guard when they are focused on something else, setting the table brings both parties together to engage in the feedback. If you ever watched this play out, there is both a physical and an emotional shift in both parties. The results are also dramatically different. Just this week, I was asked by a friend if I had a few minutes for some feedback. He set the table, and I received the request. His feedback was clear, gracious, and warranted. I was so grateful for his approach and when we concluded our talk, I felt even closer to him than I did before. Setting the Table builds trust and allows us to move forward together. Crazy to think that one sentence that takes only a few seconds to deliver can remove or reduce weeks of resentment and anger. #CompanyCulture #Communication #UndividedLife

I have this amazing opportunity to lead retreats for a variety of teams at our organization. Many of these events lead to long-term partnerships. Continuous improvement is essential to continue to create value so I build feedback into the end of each session. Through this feedback, I’m looking for four main things: 💡 What did you learn? 😁 What did you like? ⤴ What do you wish we had more of? ⤵ What do you wish we had less of? It’s not always easy to hear feedback, especially when it leans on the side of things you could do better. But it’s so valuable to the overall experience of others (not to mention my personal growth). Now I know what to keep doing and what to adjust to create a stronger, more lasting experience for others in the future. Do you regularly ask for feedback? Is it built into your 1:1s, meetings, and presentations? If not I encourage you to build this habit into these interactions. Here are some questions I’ve found helpful in sparking great feedback (just asking "Do you have any feedback for me?" often leads to a deer-in-headlights look from others): ➕ What am I doing that’s working for you? Where did I miss the mark? 🤝 Where did you feel most supported by me? Where did you feel least supported by me? 👍 Is there anything I was missing in that conversation? Anything that was helpful? 🎁 What's one thing you appreciated about the presentation? What's one thing you recommend I change? After receiving the feedback, show your appreciation for their honesty. Then continue to circle back with them on changes you've made along the way. This creates a great foundation for continuous feedback in the future. What questions have you found helpful in collecting feedback from others? #feedbackculture #feedback #continuouslearning #continuousimprovement #growthmindset #learningjourney #leadershipdevelopment #culture #receivingfeedback