It can be daunting, intimidating and downright scary to ask people to give you feedback on your performance. You know you need it, but it seems both time-consuming and full of potential emotional land mines. After all, there are going to be things that are difficult to hear.
Seek regular feedback by asking people three simple questions:
What should I keep doing?
What should I start doing?
What should I stop doing?
While you can ask these in any order, we like starting with what you should keep doing. This reinforces the point that everyone has strengths – and those strengths will be the foundation for building new capabilities and eliminating bad habits.
Make it easier for people to do by giving them the questions in advance, then schedule 20 minutes of their time. Don’t feel like you have to react to what they say real time. You will want to process the feedback. Make sure to thank people for their time, preparation and input.
Once you have received the feedback, use MindTool’s guide to help you interpret what you hear. You’ll not only understand the feedback better, you’ll be able to act on it to improve your performance.
We say feedback is a gift. These three simple questions can yield a treasure of insight you’ll really appreciate.
Want to make a step change in your performance? Contact Humanergy.
Photo from iStockphoto.