Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #7) How to Provide Feedback

@Heather225

What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

The four-part forumla is: micro-yes, data points, show impact, and end with a question

Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself?

Definitely the micro-yes. Every time I give feedback, I always first ask if they would prefer feedback or not to give an open choice. However, at the same time, one of the biggest parts I can improve is to make it an option really optional. I feel like my micro-yes part sometimes feel like the person has to agree, which is something I definitely do not want.

Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

It's very important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 cups because feedback is the main way we can see where we can improve and progress. Oftentimes, it is hard for us to reflect about our own faults and where we can improve, and sometimes the only way we can really understand is when someone else sees somewhere we can improve. The main way another person can let us know where we can improve is through feedback! Without feedback, the whole site might have a hard time with quality, progress, and everything in general :)

@Heather225

What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

The four part formula: The micro-yes, Data point, Show impact, & End on a question

Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?

I could improve on Data points. Sometimes I do not know how to state my feedback in order not to hurt the person so I am often indirect and soft so the feedback is not even recognized (as mentioned in the video).

Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

I think it's important because it helps us to improve our skills and get better at helping members and doing good and effective work for the community.

The four part formula: The micro-yes, Data point, Show impact, and End on a question

I can improve in the show impact aspect by asking more questions to understand someones situation a bit better and trying my best to help them get through whatever they may be dealing with.

Its important to cultivate a feedback culture because it is important to improve and learn from our mistakes, and we must lift each other up in this community so we can care for our members in the best way possible.

Micro yes. Date point show impact end question,

I need to work the last 3 ,

I think feedback is important for growth and for people to know if they are good job. Also feedback on what they can improve on can help thid growth and get better, my saying. Is like all about growing , learning and being better as a person.

1.) The micro-yes, Data point, Show impact, and End on a question.

2.) The micro-yes. The idea of the micro-yes is fairly new to me and I haven't utilized this formula at all in my life.

3.) There is always room for improvement. You never know if you're doing good or bad without a feedback from anyone. Giving and receiving feedback will improve our personal listening skills as well as support our community as a whole.

- What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

Micro yes: Ask them a question about whether or not feedback is welcome. This gives the other person a sense of control because technically they could say no. It also gets their brain more ready to hear the feedback.

Data point: What is it exactly that youre giving feedback about, be objective and cut out blur words.

Impact Statement: How did what the other person do impact you?

Question: Asking for feedback about how the other person feels about the feedback you have just given.

- Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?

I think I could do better at asking questions about how the person is feeling about the feedback I have just provided to give them a chance to discuss and grow a little bit more. I know that if people gave me a chance to ask questions and respond to feedback I would feel like the feedback was an opportunity for growth rather than them just telling me what I did right or wrong.

- Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

A big part of the 7cups culture that I love is that we work to help each other grow in our skills and talents. If we dont give/receive feedback how do we know how we are doing and how we need to improve? If we want to develop a strong leadership team we need to be able to give and receive feedback in the most gracious way possible.

What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?
The micro-yes; data point; show impact; questions.

Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?
Hmm, I think that I have to work on showing an impact; I find feedback difficult sometimes, both receiving it and offering it. However, I know it's imperative to personal growth!

Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?
As I said previously, feedback is imperative to grow as a person. With constructive feedback, it can help us to do that and to become great leaders.

@Heather225

- What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

1. Micro-yes

2. Data point

3. Show impact

4. Asking a question

- Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?

I'd work on point 2 and lessen the use of blur words. I hate feeling let down by someone but I'm always scared of how they will feel when I relay the feedback

- Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

On a platform that is pretty much just interpersonal interactions, it's important to be open to feedback especially when members give you feedback related to the chat. Cultivating this lets listeners feel comfortable when met with feedback

- What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

Micro-yes

E.g.

Do you have 5 minutes to talk about how that last conversation went?

I have some ideas how we can improve things - Can I share them with you?

Data point

Specific information about an event that happened using objective language and avoiding generalised or objectionable comments

Show Impact

Specific benefit or disadvantage that subsequently occurred

End on a question

What do you think about this is there another way we could improve on this?

- Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?

The methods which are missing from the video have been around for several decades and are certainly not mine, just as the tips in the video were certainly invented long before LeeAnn Renniger was born.

APPOINTMENT

The idea of asking permission to give feedback has been formalised in Australia so giving negative feedback in a workplace without an appointment to do so or in front of other staff is unlawful bullying. There should be a gap of a day or more in between the micro-yes and the actual feedback there is no point just sending feedback to a team member, and making the first part of a message, Do you mind if we take 5 minutes for feedback that application of this tip assumes that the volunteer that you are talking to has nothing better to do than hear your opinions, and also doesn't give them time to think about what to say to you.

PRIVACY

The fact that the feedback is given in private is far more important than the Micro-yes, and asking for permission to give feedback in front of other workers defeats the point, because the worker will feel obliged to say yes.

REGULAR REVIEWS FOR EVERYONE

Feedback is usually a leader's job to do for every member of a team on a regular basis in a professional workplace, and that way no member of a team can feel like the leader is singling them out for criticism (unlawful bullying in Commonwealth countries)

ASKING FOR FEEDBACK ABOUT YOURSELF

Giving feedback to a team member without asking for feedback about your own leadership is unapproachable and unprofessional leadership there is no point pretending that only workers make mistakes and that leaders are all perfect. Leaders who fail to ask for or respond proactively to feedback about themselves first often actually cause the issues that they complain about for example, in the video, if a leader sends an email and requires a reply by 11 am the same day and then blames their worker for some issue that occurs as a result, then they are bullying their staff, because any good worker has already planned what they are going to do the next morning on the day before.

If the leader had asked for feedback about themselves first in the video, before making a complaint, they would have ended up finding out how morning demands to be replied to by 11 am were of course massively interfering with productivity in the workplace, and therefore would have avoided making the sort of complaint which would no doubt be described as bossy and disrespectful by the members of their team. Obviously if the leader needed something by 11 am, they should have asked for that days before.

A good way of encouraging feedback about your leadership from workers is to have a list of feedback subtopics youd like opinions about, like workload, communication (frequency, language, response time etc), approachability, reliability, acknowledgement, access, assistance etc. Good workplaces even have a form for workers to do this. There is no point using this step to solicit flattery: "You're really great" is not good enough - a leader needs to know specifically what they are getting right and wrong.

SELF-EVALUATION

The next part of a professional feedback interview is when the leader asks the worker How do you feel you have been doing on . . . (task/standard A, B, C etc)?

This way, if the worker is already aware that an improvement needs to be made or has been encountering issues that the leader is unaware of, then the leader will find that out, and the worker will be far more comfortable with making a change that they have brought up and suggested themselves.

STARTING WITH A POSITIVE

Feedback that is always or completely negative ruins morale, reduces trust and degrades the relationship between the leader and their team member, so if there is a need to correct mistakes or adjust methods in the workplace, it is important that,every time this needs to happen, the leader also first points out something that the worker was doing right as well. Positive feedback needs to be in the same format as described in the video specific information about an event, detailing the positive impact of that behaviour, asking for the workers opinion (because they might have an even better idea) and encouraging more of the same in the future.

ENDING WITH A POSITIVE

Sandwiching a bit of bad news in between 2 compliments can also be a much better idea than complaining to a worker about their work, especially volunteer work, and especially if the improvement suggestion might have been a bit of a shock or difficult for the worker to hear. Whether its positive or negative, each feedback topic needs to follow the same steps as above

CONCLUDING SUMMARY

Moving forward, at the end of a professional feedback interview, both the leader and the worker have a list of improvements that will be made in the future, as well as a list of what they have been doing right and what they should be continuing to do, and the summary is simply a matter of going through this list.

- Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

A feedback culture is important to any organisation without feedback there is no measure of what is being done right and what is being done wrong. It is certainly important to cultivate an effective feedback process, because without a proper feedback system not only improvement can not occur, but also there will be no means for the organisation to know when changes are required.

@Heather225

What is the four-part formula that you can use to say any difficult message well?

the micro yes question, data point, show impact, the end question

- Which one of these parts do you think you could improve on and do better for yourself "and why"?

Show impact and avoid using 'blur', be more specific

- Why do you think it's so important to cultivate a feedback culture here on 7 Cups?

Cultivate feedback help others know their flaw and improving. It's more like a learning curve.