Seek feedback, it’s a gift
The quickest way to obtain superpowers. 🦸🏻♀️
I used to take Feedback the in the wrong way. There were times I become defensive and felt like my work was being attacked. However, as time went on throughout my career, asking for feedback eventually became second nature.
Early in my career I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a book called Radical Candor by Kim Scott, which helped tremendously by changing my perception of feedback. Rather than taking feedback negatively, I soon realised that it’s a gift. It’s a tool that can help with continued learning and improving performance. Especially improving the products we build for our users.
The beauty of receiving feedback not only improves you in your profession, it also improves you to become a better person. Now that’s a super power.
How you can open yourself up to feedback
It can be difficult to ask for feedback because it’s not always easy to give feedback from the other person’s POV. Especially if you’re in a senior role asking your reports for their feedback. I do this by constantly asking for feedback during one-to-ones every week. Initially, you won’t get an answer because it’s uncomfortable and awkward for the other person. The solution is to give them time to digest and reflect. Keep asking the person in every one-to-one meeting. In time they will build the confidence and dish out feedback like there’s no tomorrow.
Learning that feedback is a gift, I always take the opportunity to thank the person first who is giving me the feedback. It simply lets the person know that I have acknowledged their feedback and I will listen to them. Not only it will guarantee more feedback in the future, it will signify that you’re open to feedback and prompting the person to give you feedback at any given time with confidence, knowing that’s what you value the most.
I now look for every opportunity to get feedback from colleagues on my work and also seeking feedback from my manager on how I can be a better designer. This has transformed in ways that I am proud of. Receiving feedback from others is the most valuable ingredient. To be able to learn from others will only make me a better designer. As well as mentoring others to help them grow.
Seeking feedback
Simply ask for feedback during one-to-one sessions on a weekly basis. You will get so much out of this by just asking. Another great way of seeking feedback on your personal development is to send out 360 degree feedback on your performance. I am sure you have done this before but if you haven’t, its basically a form you send out to your team and colleagues you have been working closely with getting an objective view on how you are doing. I Do this once or twice a year asking questions such as:
What am I doing well on?
What should I do more of?
What can I improve on?
These are some of the questions I ask as an example. So always seek feedback and use it as a motivation, see it as a gift to learn and improve on working collaboratively. As we all have one Common goal as a team, to make the user’s life easier right?
Now, give feedback
I found the best way to give feedback is by pinpointing the situation. Giving a specific example of a situation that you’re referring to. Be clear on the observations and help the person to understand what the feedback means and the impact it can cause (i.e on other people). Finally, I found it super useful with offering suggestions on how they can improve differently next time. But be sure to be sincere.
Conclusion
Don’t shy away from feedback. Make it a habitual part of your day, listen to the feedback and action it.
To learn more about how to seek feedback, read the book Radical Candor as I have mentioned, it has helped with my way of thinking. A very powerful book. Enjoy!
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this, please share it and follow. You can also reach out to me on LinkedIn Simon Hoang.
