presentation<\/a><\/noindex> Dan Pink, a well-known business consultant and author of books on modern approaches to motivation in business. <\/p>\n![\"1000](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/c3fa0bfc3d0b52acc4ba275136e50748.jpeg\")
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\nThe quality of feedback from colleagues significantly determines the third component of engineer motivation\u2014receiving recognition.<\/p>\n
But let's be honest, how often does feedback come from someone without any special training? They often criticize, rarely praise, and judge without understanding. It turns out that such feedback doesn't motivate those around them and often leads to conflicts. <\/p>\n
Consistently receiving this kind of feedback from their team leader, the engineer reacts predictably: if there is no positive feedback, they conclude that they are not valued. If there is no developmental feedback, they feel there is nowhere for them to grow.<\/p>\n
So what do they do in this situation? They say, 'I\u2019m leaving!'. <\/p>\n
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\nThe consequences are clear: while we look for a replacement for the engineer, projects are suffering, the workload for others increases, and the company spends a lot of money on finding a new team member.<\/p>\n
The conclusion is clear: the type of feedback our engineers receive is very important. Therefore, those who provide this feedback (mainly, we are talking about team leaders) need to know how to do it correctly. So why is it that team leaders often struggle to give proper feedback?<\/p>\n
How does one become a team leader?<\/h1>\n
\nIt\u2019s beneficial when a company intentionally develops team leaders, equipping them with all the necessary skills to manage a team before they take on a leadership position. But sometimes, it happens that the person chosen is the one who writes the best code and understands the system the most, and they are given the system and a team. <\/p>\n
As a result, an excellent engineer can be lost while leaving behind a demotivated team leader who is overwhelmed by their responsibilities. <\/p>\n
The only way to avoid this is to deliberately teach potential (and current) team leaders how to work with a team. But even this turns out to be quite complicated.<\/p>\n
How are team leaders prepared for working with people?<\/h1>\n
\nThe standard solution for training team leaders is a one-time training session. It's important to understand that the ability to give proper feedback is a skill that can only be developed through practice. Unfortunately, one training session won't develop this skill; at best, the person will acquire theoretical knowledge, and they will have to learn to apply it independently in real work. The questions that inevitably arise can be addressed in post-training sessions, but such events are rarely held, and attendance is often low. <\/p>\n
In the case of feedback training, the situation is further complicated by the fact that a person seems to still be learning, but we cannot check how they are doing. This is because, in real work, the team leader most often gives feedback to the employee one-on-one. There is no way to adjust, suggest, or provide feedback on the feedback, as this happens behind closed doors. <\/p>\n
When I was thinking about how to overcome this challenge, an idea came to me: why not try to wrap the feedback training into another project that would operate in a club format?<\/p>\n
Why is the club format better suited for feedback training?<\/h1>\n
\n1. Attendance at the club is voluntary \u2013 which means that those who come are truly motivated to learn.<\/p>\n
2. The club, unlike a training session, is not a one-time event. People attend the club regularly over an extended period, allowing them not only to gain theoretical knowledge but also to learn how to apply it. <\/p>\n
3. In the club format, the learning process can be monitored. A person gives feedback not one-on-one but within a game situation that other club participants observe. Therefore, we can provide them with feedback on their feedback and help improve their skills. <\/p>\n
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Speaker\u2019s Club. Learning to speak publicly and give feedback.<\/h1>\n
\nHow exactly did we implement feedback skill training at Lamoda? Feedback is always given on something; some work needs to be done that can be improved upon. Therefore, feedback training can be combined with another activity. <\/p>\n
At that time, as a DevRel, I was working on my main task: I needed our experts to start regularly giving talks at well-known IT conferences. Many specialists understood that they needed to enhance their public speaking skills. And, largely at the suggestion of colleagues, I organized a speakers' club in the company (Lamoda Speakers Club).<\/p>\n
But within the speakers' club, we also worked on feedback skills. I taught people to give each other feedback in a way that would be helpful. And I helped them see firsthand why receiving proper feedback is so important.<\/p>\n
What is the Lamoda Speakers Club?<\/h1>\n
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\nMain goals of the club:
\n1. Speak safely.
\n2. Make mistakes.
\n3. Experiment.<\/p>\n
How it works. Each participant prepares a short presentation on any topic (5 minutes for the presentation and another 5 for questions). After a participant presents their report, the listeners provide feedback. The club meetings occur every two weeks, featuring no more than 6 speakers per meeting (resulting in an hour for the presentations and another hour for feedback). Participation is voluntary.<\/p>\n
What constitutes proper feedback: what it is and how to 'sell' it to others?<\/h1>\n
\nAs I mentioned at the beginning of my presentation, most people initially use feedback in less than optimal ways \u2014 turning this powerful motivational tool into something quite unpleasant for both the giver and the receiver. This occurs due to a lack of understanding of how motivation works and what helps people begin to improve their work. <\/p>\n
Therefore, my main task was not just to explain to my colleagues what proper feedback is, but also to 'sell' them this idea so they would realize that this unfamiliar way of providing feedback indeed works better than the one they are used to. <\/p>\n
So, what exactly is proper feedback? What idea are we 'selling'? <\/p>\n
Let's break it down, what kinds of feedback are there<\/b>.<\/p>\n
1. Positive and negative<\/b>
\nPositive feedback answers the question, 'What was good?'. Negative feedback answers the question, 'What was bad?' <\/p>\n
This is where I had to convey to the team that positive feedback is essential for motivation, while negative feedback is ineffective. Instead, it's better to provide developmental feedback<\/b>, which answers the question: 'What can be improved?'. <\/p>\n
2. Useful or, conversely, unconstructive<\/b>
\nWhat feedback can be considered useful?
\nThis constructive<\/b> and specific<\/b> comments that answer the question: 'What should be done?', rather than 'What was bad?'.<\/p>\n
In order to provide constructive feedback, we learned to distinguish our personal judgments and feelings from the facts. We are all human, so even in technical matters, feelings are involved. <\/p>\n
3. Absent <\/b>
\nYes, this is also a type of feedback, and its importance was clearly recognized by the participants during public presentations. Imagine: a person spent half an hour preparing, stepped on stage, delivered a report \u2014 and received nothing in return. No questions, no comments, no objections. At that moment, it suddenly dawns on them that when there is no feedback \u2014 it hurts. It\u2019s terrible. This was probably my first significant insight: conveying the need for feedback at the Speakers Club turned out to be much easier than explaining it verbally ten times. <\/p>\n
A person who receives no feedback immediately thinks they did something wrong. There are very few people who believe they're doing fine even when there\u2019s a heavy silence in the room. Therefore, we should not allow a lack of feedback when we want to motivate our employees \u2014 and club participants understand this from their own experience.<\/p>\n
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So, feedback is essential it must be<\/b>, it should include positive<\/b> and developmental<\/b> components, and it should be beneficial, meaning constructive.<\/b><\/i>. \n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\nOf course, this idea of feedback is quite different from what many are accustomed to \u2014 if everything is fine, then there\u2019s no need to say anything, and if something is wrong \u2014 it needs to be criticized without caring for constructive suggestions. Therefore, I encountered resistance from some colleagues, and I had to \"sell\" them the idea of proper feedback \u2014 that is, demonstrate practically that it works much better. <\/p>\n
Next, I will discuss the main doubts that arose among club members and how I addressed them.<\/p>\n
Problem: the fear of offending<\/b>
\nThe first issue I faced. People are afraid to give both positive and negative comments. The thought that feedback is not criticism but development is quite unfamiliar in our culture. So, both giving and receiving feedback is fundamentally scary for most people.
\nSolution: personal example and time to adapt<\/b><\/p>\n
Problem: excessive aggression<\/b>
\nOften, when a person gives feedback, it creates the impression that they are self-agrandizing at someone else's expense. It looks something like this: 'Now I will tell you how not to do it!' And they stand there all proud, as if they are the smartest. Then they wonder why no one listens to them and refuses to accept their ideas. When I encounter such people, it's important for me to understand that the person is actually good, and they don't want to harm anyone; they just care about the truth. Their problem is that they simply don't know how to convey their thoughts effectively yet. My task is to teach them how to do that.
\nSolution: the principle of 'everyone is equal' and the rule 'if you haven't spoken, you don't give feedback'<\/b>
\nI reminded participants that everyone came to the club to study a topic that no one knows (public speaking). Therefore, anyone can make mistakes, and everyone's opinion is equally important. We use feedback in the club not to determine who is better, but to share experiences and find solutions to problems together. It's not necessary to tell others that they are all not doing well.<\/p>\n
As a result, we created another rule: if you haven't spoken, you don't give feedback. Only when a person has been in the speaker's shoes can they understand what it's like. Their feedback will immediately sound different, and will be much more constructive and useful.<\/p>\n
Problem: unwillingness to give positive feedback<\/b>
\nSome people believe that positive feedback is unnecessary at all. The team lead of one of the teams came to me with this idea: 'I want to speak, but I don't want to give feedback to others.'<\/p>\n
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\nSolution: demonstrating the effectiveness of positive feedback<\/b>
\nEvaluating objectively (that is, talking not only about the negatives but also about the positives) is important; without this, feedback simply doesn't work as a motivational tool. <\/p>\n
I love to share the story of a person who was once a team leader and then became a CTO. When he conducted code reviews, he would leave numerous comments about what needed to be fixed, and people often felt resistant to it. He read an article about the power of positive feedback, which suggested telling people what they did well in their work. So, he started adding one or two positive comments to each code review. As a result, people began to anticipate his comments with healthy curiosity, feeling that their work had been seen and fairly evaluated. <\/p>\n
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\nProblem: Reluctance to receive positive feedback<\/b>
\nThere are times when a person who receives feedback doesn't want to hear about their strengths, considering it a waste of time. This is tied to the culture of undervaluing oneself that exists in post-Soviet spaces. When we are told that we did something well, we often ignore it. However, as soon as we are pointed out a flaw, we take a close look at it. This means we focus solely on our problems and overlook our successes.<\/p>\n
I tried to show the club participants in practice how they can apply the positive feedback they received to help them understand its importance.<\/p>\n
Solution 1: Positive feedback helps test hypotheses<\/b><\/p>\n
With positive feedback, hypotheses can be tested. For example, while preparing a report, you might believe that this compelling fact will resonate well with everyone. But then, during feedback, you hear that while listing the advantages of your work, no one mentioned it even once. Then you realize that it\u2019s not the key argument and you try to focus on something else next time. <\/p>\n
Solution 2: Positive feedback helps to understand where to put in effort and where not to.<\/b><\/p>\n
An example from the work of our club. One department manager had a very quiet voice, and he struggled to speak loudly. He worked on this for quite a while, and finally, he succeeded. He achieved the ability to speak to the entire hall without a microphone. Over the course of three club meetings, he was told that the volume was sufficient, and he could be heard everywhere. At this point, he could stop and move on to developing the next skill, while still leaning on his strengths. <\/p>\n
Solution 3: Positive feedback helps improve skills.<\/b><\/p>\n
There are two approaches to development:<\/p>\n
\n- Bridging the gaps. When a person identifies their weaknesses and tries to improve them. <\/li>\n
- On the contrary, enhancing strong skills. Even if there are some weak points, the strengths are so good that they compensate for all weaknesses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\nLet's say you already know that you struggle with planning your public speaking, but you excel at improvising when engaging with people. Okay, don\u2019t overly plan your presentation, don\u2019t stress about it. Prepare key points and then improvise. Don\u2019t do what demotivates you\u2014do what you do best. But to do what you do best, you need to be aware of it.<\/p>\n
Problem: Unobjective feedback.<\/b><\/p>\n
I will keep repeating: proper feedback is a powerful tool that helps us improve our work. But for it to work, it must be objective, meaning it should include mentions of both the positive aspects of the work done and what can (or should) be improved. As you can see, people found it difficult to give positive feedback, so overall, the feedback was not very objective. <\/p>\n
Solution 1: The 'three positives or be silent' rule.<\/b><\/p>\n
In order to harness the full power of positive feedback, we introduced another rule in the club: those who cannot find three positives in a person's presentation and voice them in feedback must remain silent. This motivated participants to find positives so they could express their opinions. Thus, our feedback became more objective.<\/p>\n
Solution 2: Don't make excuses. <\/b><\/p>\n
It's important to be able to accept positive feedback. Here, once again due to the culture of devaluation, people often start to justify themselves after their work has been praised. They say things like, 'It just happened by chance, it wasn\u2019t really me who did it, guys.' And\u2014look at the downsides I see in my own work.<\/p>\n
This isn't constructive. You've come out here and you're doing what you're doing. You'll be told what was noticed in your work. These are entirely your achievements, accept them. And if something didn\u2019t go quite right, you don\u2019t have to mention it immediately, even if it goes unnoticed. There\u2019s no need to scrutinize the shortcomings; it\u2019s much more beneficial to objectively evaluate the pros and cons.<\/p>\n
As you can see, this whole section was mainly about selling the idea of positive feedback, as it is very hard for people to accept. <\/p>\n
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