WORKING WITH A TEAM
GIVING FEEDBACK — IL/IW/WI
As innovators, developers and designers of today, we have numerous resources for learning the “hard” skills required to succeed in a technical role, but many of us are missing the soft skills required to excel in their careers. in this article, I will scratch the surface of a simple way of giving feedback that I have found helpful when giving feedback especially in teams of dynamic intellectuals. I call us, dynamic intellectuals because, most of the teams I have worked with have been comprised of very mentally stimulating individuals from different fields with different points of view and perspectives. In such teams, feedback is crucial and of paramount importance, is how feedback is given.
When done in the right way and with the right intentions, feedback can lead to outstanding performance. Team members must know what they are doing well and not so well, and when they know, they have room to rectify or improve on their contribution to the team. For your team members to really hear your thoughts and suggestions on ways to improve, though, that feedback must be delivered carefully and frequently.
Giving feedback is a skill. And like all skills, it takes practice to get it right. As a designer and a developer, I really on personal communication from my team.
I like, I wish, What if (IL/IW/WI) is a simple tool to encourage open feedback. It is almost too simple to write down, but it is too useful not to mention. In some occasions I like to call this way of giving feedback, sandwich feedback, where you give a bread of something you liked, some filling of something you think needs some improvement or changing and cover that up with a suggestion of an improvement.
I Like…
Always be appreciative of each team members contribution, however small. Remember the small bits of effort from everyone builds up the bigger picture everyone is working to achieve. Start your feedback on a positive note.
I like how we have broken the problem in smaller parts…
I wish…
Follow up with your like, with something you wish could be improved, removed from the process, or corrected. The choice of words is very important. To wish is to feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen. This means that whatever you wish for when giving this feedback, is open for debate. Remember to give a reason for your wish to give it more weight and a chance for adoption by the team.
I wish we had an extra person in the team, to help with documentation of all the process we have…
What if…
Conclude your feedback by giving a suggestion. Suggestions are different from wishes. While wishes can go as wild as asking for a day off to rejuvenate, ‘what ifs’ should be directly related to the project the team is working of. They should have actual actionable points that if adopted, they could have a direct impact on the project.
What if we did one more prototype and do an A-B testing before presenting to the investors?
Well, my dear readers, I like how you read through to the last paragraph. I wish you could share this article with your team and the people that you think may be interested in this topic. What if you start by clicking on the share icon on your right?
Thank you.
