Receiving Feedback

So for this project, I decided to ask one of my small group members for feedback and feedforward. In particular, I choose to ask a classmate that I was constantly paired with when we split the projects apart into smaller groups. I asked him:

“What do you think are some of the areas I need to work on to improve my leadership skills in a professional environment?”

The outcome was fantastic, as I knew he would give me a straightforward feedback. He was very honest and really wanted me to improve myself so he took this opportunity to provide the best possible feedback. I learned a lot about my leadership skills that I never knew and I was grateful for talking to him about this.

My partner gave me really good feedback that I really took in and listened too. I realized how important listening was from the readings as it is the central skill in the establishment and maintenance of interpersonal relationships, which in turn establishes teamwork. But most of all, listening to him and the details he describe about how I could improve myself really promoted problem solving abilities just like the readings mentioned. For example, he mentioned that I needed to better understand the different work styles of my group mates so I can better delegate the work when I’m leading the group due to the fact that some people like to finish their work early and some like to procrastinate. Another feedback was that I needed to spend the same amount of time working on a project as my teammates even if I am already very knowledgeable in that particular subject and it doesn’t interest me.

One thing that I did well was that I showed genuine interest, didn’t interrupt him during this feedback, and also asked questions to further clarify how I could improve. I showed genuine interest because I really wanted to learn and improve myself which is also why I didn't interrupt like I do sometimes because I knew what he had to say was important. I could have done a better job of listening for what was not said. Just like the readings mentioned, I was expecting to hear something and didn’t. I should have asked him why he didn’t say that as part of my feedback. It’s possible that he didn’t feel that same way as me as our expectations were different. That would have also been a good feedback.

In addition, the way I asked the question could have been better focused to include possibly a wider range of feedback. According to the reading, I need to question my questions more and could have put the question a few different ways. Finally, yes I felt his feedback was very valid as it was very honest and very truthful even in my eyes.

FEEDFORWARD

In addition to the feedback he gave me, he also provided very valuable feedforward for me to contemplate upon and make the necessary changes if need be. After he provided me the feedback that I needed to better understand my teammates style of work, he also gave me very useful feedforward on how to accomplish that.

He told me that I needed to first decide what kind of work styles worked in what situations. For instance, one person really liked to finish the work early but another really like to procrastinate. He explained that in this instance, I needed to provide the person who liked to finish their work early with all the necessary tools to accomplish the task early such as giving them early data and spreadsheets.

Once again, I employed various techniques from the readings during the feedforward session. I used my skills of active listening to really comprehend what he was saying. I also reflected on the meaning and content of our discussion. It was really helpful for me to ask him for specific examples of how I could accomplish certain things and I think I did that very well. During this time, I also communicated non-verbally very effectively. I showed him great interest in what he was saying by have positive kinesics such as sitting up with a straight posture.

Some things that I could have done better for next time regarding the way I asked was to ask for more examples. He only provided me feedforward based on the few examples we had disucussed. If instead, I gave him more examples of my mistakes on my own, then he could have easier pointed out to me how I could have improved upon them.

Overall the feedforward was fantastic. Not only did I learn what I could do to improve myself, I now know how to better my leadership and group work skills. The feedforward was valid and terrific in helping me attain my goals of being a better leader.

Giving Feedback

I am currently taking a leadership class on campus that helps to improve our leadership skills. There are a lot of self-analysis tests that we take to better help us understand our personalities as leaders. One specific test we took was the MSCEIT test, which tests ones emotional intelligence. One of my classmates scored really low on this and asked for my feedback.

I had worked with him on numerous projects so he wanted to know from me why I felt his emotionally intelligence was so low and what ideas I had for him to help him improve it.

First I asked him what areas he did poorly on. He told me that he did really poorly on the “faces” portion of the test where you are given a picture of a facial expression and have to decipher what that expression was. I did very well on that part and actually thought most people did as well. So I asked him what in particular was difficult for him to tell expressions apart. He explained that certain emotions like surprise and anger both seemed alike.

I went over some pictures with him and gave him feedback to not think to hard and just go with the first impression that comes to his mind. I told him that most people who are angry all look alike and most people who are surprised will look similar as well.

Another part of the test he did poorly on was the emotional understanding part. I gave him feedback that he takes things to literally and that not everything was what it seemed. Some people might be angry but still smile and some people might laugh but not might find it actually funny. I told him he needs to understand the underlying basis of why people are feeling the way they do first in order to get past possible fake facial expressions. Overall I felt that my feedback was timely, was specific and clear, and aligned with his desired goals.