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Most people don't see themselves as others see them. For this reason, they often don't understand the impact their actions have on others. They have "blind spots." For example, people are not always sure when their work is appreciated. On the other hand, people often don't know when they are causing problems. Even well-intentioned and hard-working people rely on ingrained patterns for success. They are able to function without giving conscious attention to their actions, so they are often the only ones who don't know they are adversely affecting the performance of their group. Feedback is essential to learning. If people don't fully appreciate their strengths, how can they use these strengths to their advantage? If they aren't sure how their actions create problems, how will they know what to change and where will they find the motivation to improve? People who take a professional attitude toward their work want feedback. They want to know what is working and what isn't. They want to know if managers are pleased with their performance. They want to contribute to solutions, not be the cause of problems. They don't like having blind spots, and they want to know how to improve. They are willing to invest in themselves to achieve better results, because they know this will increase their value in the career marketplace. As valuable and as desirable as it is, constructive feedback is not a regular occurrence in most workplaces. The two most common reasons: (1) most people are not sure how to give feedback effectively, and (2) they usually find it uncomfortable to confront each other about performance issues. Feedback is input--information people give you about your performance outcomes, behavior patterns, competence, ideas, proposals, etc. The most useful kind of feedback - and the hardest to accept - focuses on areas for improvement about which you were unaware. Feedback can come from bosses, coworkers, peers, direct reports and customers. Multi-source feedback is consolidated information about an aspect of workplace performance that comes from more than one person. Feedback may be intended for individuals, groups or organizations. Traditionally, feedback for individuals has come in the form of performance appraisals, one-on-one coaching from a supervisor and sometimes input from coworkers. Multi-source (360) feedback is a systematic way to gather and collect data and comments from a variety of people about carefully defined areas of performance. Feedback to groups and teams typically involves some form of customer feedback. Also, organizations receive feedback from consolidated multi-source feedback data, suggestion programs and climate surveys. Feedback for groups of people can be communicated using computer networks, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, strategic planning and business meetings. The impact of feedback depends on the skills of the people giving it and accepting it. Effective feedback is not critical, aggressive or emotional. It describes specific, observable behavior, giving a realistic balance of positive and constructive information. It is also timely, so that the person receiving it can do something to improve the behavior.
Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com
Dennis E. Coates is CEO of Performance Support Systems, author of MindFrames, a brain-based personality assessment system (www.initforlife.com) and co-founder of the Train-to-Ingrain alliance (www.train-to-ingrain.com, info@train-to-ingrain.com, 800-488-6463), which delivers a reinforcement-centered approach to learning and development that achieves permanent, measurable improvements in workplace behavior and positive impacts on business results.
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