FEEDBACK: Building and Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Image of Chai LiFe and Arize. © ADOF Ltd. Photo by Kamshuka
Recently, one of my professors lead a class centered around the topic of motivation when it comes to giving feedback. We looked at the need for an atmosphere of unity to be present to foster a successful team dynamic. This requires leadership through a manager, or other authority figure, who is able to uplift and communicate the necessary improvements each individual needs to progress and expresses why motivation is a necessary factor when it comes to enhancing our relationships.
Feedback as mentioned is one of the key indicators we use to measure whether our direction is skewed or aligned correctly. When I was tasked to consider how I give or receive feedback and whether my own approach is through an informal or formal exchange, I thought back to where much of my experience comes…. my children.
When it comes to family matters, I try to address things constructively.
Some scenarios are simple, and done on the spot, while others are the more “stop everything and come sit down….we need to talk” type of situation. Though in a work setting, this behaviour wouldn’t necessarily equate to how a boss may approach their employee, the reality is that a “meeting” is scheduled and approaching the “office” tends to make your back straighten and your body language tense as you sit down. This definitely doesn’t present the most encouraging atmosphere and sometimes the results feel as if the individual, or child being evaluated isn’t as responsive to the information being exchanged.
When reflecting on more informal approaches, I searched the phrase “best work environment companies”.
The results led me to an article by CNBC captioned, “Glassdoor: The 10 best companies to work for in 2020”.
At #1 on the list, I learned about HubSpot, a computer hardware and software company that beat out Google, Apple and so many other companies that have been garnering attention for their unconventional work environments. The interesting thing to be noted from all of these companies throughout the list, is that there were two repeating factors that rated them so highly by their employees:
Flexibility in work spaces and work schedules
Attentiveness towards supporting employees growth
Both of these require trust and dedication which I sum up by saying there’s a level of commitment, expressed through these employers’ communication, whether verbally or through action. This made me dig a little further to see exactly what HubSpot was about and because one of their values includes transparency, they literally posted their CULTURE CODE for all to see, which can be viewed “here”.
In applying this to a family environment, when I allow a dialogue to take place in an informal setting, I can often get a better sense of where the little people in my household are coming from. It allows their’ defences to lower and gives a better understanding of the personalities operating within my family, which can equally be applied to an organization’s employees.
The whole purpose behind feedback is to bring improvement,
whether given or received, whether by an employer, educator, parent, loved one or even child. When done in a way that encourages growth and done in love, it allows, in my personal opinion, a better response.
So maybe the next time I’m ready to clear my throat to use the commandeering tone, I’ll opt for another approach by taking a step back, tapping the individual on the shoulder and maybe even offer them a cookie, or perhaps a cuppa while we take a moment to chat.
Image of Chai LiFe and Arize
© ADOF&Co. Photo by Kamshuka
