[Music]
I’m ten months into my first job as an
analyst at a big financial firm it’s
time for my first ever performance
review and I’m excited I wear my
favorite navy suit and a really pretty
lime scarf I go into the office of the
senior manager on my team I sit down at
this very small circular round table
he’s right across from me
it was raining that day I remember that
because it felt so honest the senior
manager lovely man we’ll call him Bob I
see him eyeing this piece of paper out
of the corner of his eye and I think
it’s my feedback and it looks like he’s
reading it for the first time so I
assume it’s been prepared for him by
someone else someone in HR it strikes me
how awkward this is Bob and I were on
the same team but we’ve never worked
together
and I think he’s feeling kind of awkward
about it too but he’s been appointed to
give me this feedback so we get into it
he gives me a few generic comments about
my performance which were okay and then
we get to the constructive feedback and
this is what I’m excited for because I
want to be a valuable member of this
team I want to grow he says Lauren what
you need to focus on is a TD thanks Bob
what does that mean Bob says ah
it means attention to detail okay I
think in my head well what does that
mean did I get some math wrong on a
slide did I spell something wrong in an
email was my shirt untucked was it on
backwards what did I miss how come
nobody told me I really wanted to just
launch into a flurry of questions
because they’re scrolling in my mind but
I don’t thank Bob and I leave I go back
to my desk I sit down I log into my
computer and it hits me but I actually
have no idea what to focus on in terms
of areas for improvement and I might
have to wait another 10 months until my
next performance review to find out
years later I’m at a new job new role
new company new manager her name is
Michelle and I’m on the phone with her
and I am pitching her this new idea for
a somewhat controversial policy my
groove going through my slides I get to
slide 12 out of 20 and she just cuts me
off
she says Lauren I’ve heard enough I’m
not convinced I’m not sold I got to
think about it click in that moment I
was feeling like a failure and so I
decide I’m going to get some fresh air
take a walk so as I’m leaving my office
the phone rings so I lunge and I answer
the phone it’s Michelle she says Lauren
I want to talk about that call and I
think oh my gosh it clearly went even
worse than I thought
she asks me what were you trying to
achieve on that call what was your goal
so I say to her out Michelle
I wanted to convince you that this
policy was really important that we
should adopt it from wide and that you
should be the champion she asks me did
you manage to that outcome
obviously not she’s that she then spent
the next 30 minutes going through with
me in detail what I did well where I
lost her in my reasoning and most
importantly how she would have done it
how she would have thought about it how
she would have pitched it in that moment
I learned such a critical skill managed
to your outcome I think about that all
the time I use it every day good
feedback like that it persists it can
have ripple effects for years Michelle
is my feedback euro what feedback heroes
enable us to do is learn feedback even
just the word it can trigger our
fight-or-flight response but feedback
heroes the way they deliver feedback
isn’t threatening because it’s
forward-looking and I realized that the
world needs more feedback heroes people
who can lift us up people who can teach
us help us grow because we want that
that matters to us a 2015 Gallup poll
found that the single most important
factor to Millennials in choosing a job
was the ability to learn and grow a
recent cover of the Harvard Business
Review had an article titled the
performance management revolution the
focus is shifting from accountability to
learning and so it’s unsurprising that
the performance management industry is
undergoing huge change companies are
trying to redefine and figure out what
feedback means in the 21st century old
feedback systems like the one I
experienced are being completely
scrapped
these are the companies that are
scrapping systems so why now why right
now why not when I got to the workforce
with Bob it’s generational one eels are
used to working in a way that is
completely different we’re used to
getting feedback that is more frequent
it’s faster and it’s mobile enabled
let’s admit it we go into a restaurant
we have a particularly great or a
particularly terrible meal we get on the
interwebs and we write about it I write
about it
TripAdvisor a website that some of you
may know or may have posted on they’ve
noticed that some of their restaurant
goers are sitting in a restaurant eating
dinner and they’re writing feedback
while they’re in the restaurant and the
restaurants can respond real-time they
can address issues before those
restaurant goers even get to dessert
so what happens when this wave of change
of performance management collides with
this real-time wave precipitated by the
Millennials you get a tidal wave and the
tidal wave we’re facing is one of
real-time feedback many of the companies
that you saw earlier they’re doing
exactly that they’re rolling out
real-time feedback tools as we ride this
wave getting feedback really right is of
the utmost importance because we can
only harness its power if we learn how
to do it articulate it deliver it
receive it and implement it and footnote
here
this isn’t feedback like you know it
today or may have experienced its
feedback packaged as coaching like the
kind Michelle gave me we’re on the brink
of a pretty radical change but are we
ready for it no I don’t think we are in
my 24 years of education I never learned
how to be a coach I never learned how to
deliver receive or implement feedback
and certainly not in real-time in fact I
never thought about any of those things
as discrete skills that had to be
learned or mastered and Bob I don’t
think he did either think about that for
a second
bob was giving feedback in a
professional setting for 25 years and I
don’t think he was ever given the
opportunity to learn how to do so
feedback is like a dark art we know we
need it we know it’s good for us but we
hate I mean really hate talking about it
and it is only just four things four
facets articulation are you a powerful
observer delivery are you effective at
communicating what it is that you
observed depending on who you’re talking
to
reception are you open actually open to
receiving feedback and implementation do
you have the nuggets of wisdom that you
need to turn that feedback into action
some organizations progressive
organizations are making this part of
the conversation they’re experimenting
with new tools new apps new frameworks
it won’t be one-size-fits-all there
won’t be one right answer an extension D
called this a great social experiment
these four facets are important pieces
of the performance management puzzle but
they have to go from once or twice a
year skills to everyday skills you need
to be as good at giving feedback as you
are at being a doctor or a lawyer or a
guitar player or a bellhop or a
financial analyst the future will
necessitate this as a core skill as
these real-time tools become the norm
there are effects both negative and
positive will be amplified
we have a window right now to master
this craft before the tidal wave arrives
and here’s the thing when you do when
you master this craft everybody will
want to work with you the most talented
and ambitious people will want to work
with you because they will know that you
can elevate them to a higher level of
their own ability I love working with
Michele she’s the best because every
time I work with her I grow I learn I
evolve who doesn’t want that by the way
Michele asks me for feedback all the
time which was scary in the beginning
actually it’s it’s still scary most
people think about coaching as being a
one-way dialogue from coach to player I
invite you to think about feedback as
being a two-way street that can go from
player back to coach to our real-time
world will be 360 degrees meaning that
the organizations that we work for that
you will work for in the future they
will ask for feedback on people all
around you
junior to you senior to your peers and
if you master this craft you will be
able to give all of those groups great
feedback and they will seek you out
because everybody wants to work with a
feedback hero so be one the companies
the organizations the teams that figure
this out first that teach it faster that
elevate their employees higher they will
win the war for talent and they will
also have the most engaged workforce
recall the 2015 Gallup poll found that
the single most important factor for
millenials and looking for a job was the
ability to learn and grow you can’t
invite them to learn and grow just once
every 10 months so how do we get there
how do we get to a world that is filled
with feedback heroes who’s responsible
for teaching us for teaching the
workforce for teaching the future
workforce we all are each one of us we
have to lead by example
we’ll make small changes every day high
schools and colleges they have a role to
play in this too the need to integrate
this into their curriculums like it’s
just as important as writing or driver’s
ed and the workplace this training needs
to be part of the curriculum every year
because together we can create virtuous
circles of learning so the next time
you’re in a meeting or a team huddle or
even a one-to-one spend that extra five
minutes at the end think deeply about
what you observed what you can offer
pick someone to give feedback to manage
to your outcome the outcome you want is
for that person to learn and grow
so deliver feedback with that framework
in mind when you start to do this the
world you inhabit will start to change
imagine you go to sleep every night
knowing how you can be better tomorrow
imagine you wake up every day excited to
learn
imagine you even look forward to a
performance review the ability to be a
real-time feedback hero is in your hands
thank you
you
I’m ten months into my first job as an
analyst at a big financial firm it’s
time for my first ever performance
review and I’m excited I wear my
favorite navy suit and a really pretty
lime scarf I go into the office of the
senior manager on my team I sit down at
this very small circular round table
he’s right across from me
it was raining that day I remember that
because it felt so honest the senior
manager lovely man we’ll call him Bob I
see him eyeing this piece of paper out
of the corner of his eye and I think
it’s my feedback and it looks like he’s
reading it for the first time so I
assume it’s been prepared for him by
someone else someone in HR it strikes me
how awkward this is Bob and I were on
the same team but we’ve never worked
together
and I think he’s feeling kind of awkward
about it too but he’s been appointed to
give me this feedback so we get into it
he gives me a few generic comments about
my performance which were okay and then
we get to the constructive feedback and
this is what I’m excited for because I
want to be a valuable member of this
team I want to grow he says Lauren what
you need to focus on is a TD thanks Bob
what does that mean Bob says ah
it means attention to detail okay I
think in my head well what does that
mean did I get some math wrong on a
slide did I spell something wrong in an
email was my shirt untucked was it on
backwards what did I miss how come
nobody told me I really wanted to just
launch into a flurry of questions
because they’re scrolling in my mind but
I don’t thank Bob and I leave I go back
to my desk I sit down I log into my
computer and it hits me but I actually
have no idea what to focus on in terms
of areas for improvement and I might
have to wait another 10 months until my
next performance review to find out
years later I’m at a new job new role
new company new manager her name is
Michelle and I’m on the phone with her
and I am pitching her this new idea for
a somewhat controversial policy my
groove going through my slides I get to
slide 12 out of 20 and she just cuts me
off
she says Lauren I’ve heard enough I’m
not convinced I’m not sold I got to
think about it click in that moment I
was feeling like a failure and so I
decide I’m going to get some fresh air
take a walk so as I’m leaving my office
the phone rings so I lunge and I answer
the phone it’s Michelle she says Lauren
I want to talk about that call and I
think oh my gosh it clearly went even
worse than I thought
she asks me what were you trying to
achieve on that call what was your goal
so I say to her out Michelle
I wanted to convince you that this
policy was really important that we
should adopt it from wide and that you
should be the champion she asks me did
you manage to that outcome
obviously not she’s that she then spent
the next 30 minutes going through with
me in detail what I did well where I
lost her in my reasoning and most
importantly how she would have done it
how she would have thought about it how
she would have pitched it in that moment
I learned such a critical skill managed
to your outcome I think about that all
the time I use it every day good
feedback like that it persists it can
have ripple effects for years Michelle
is my feedback euro what feedback heroes
enable us to do is learn feedback even
just the word it can trigger our
fight-or-flight response but feedback
heroes the way they deliver feedback
isn’t threatening because it’s
forward-looking and I realized that the
world needs more feedback heroes people
who can lift us up people who can teach
us help us grow because we want that
that matters to us a 2015 Gallup poll
found that the single most important
factor to Millennials in choosing a job
was the ability to learn and grow a
recent cover of the Harvard Business
Review had an article titled the
performance management revolution the
focus is shifting from accountability to
learning and so it’s unsurprising that
the performance management industry is
undergoing huge change companies are
trying to redefine and figure out what
feedback means in the 21st century old
feedback systems like the one I
experienced are being completely
scrapped
these are the companies that are
scrapping systems so why now why right
now why not when I got to the workforce
with Bob it’s generational one eels are
used to working in a way that is
completely different we’re used to
getting feedback that is more frequent
it’s faster and it’s mobile enabled
let’s admit it we go into a restaurant
we have a particularly great or a
particularly terrible meal we get on the
interwebs and we write about it I write
about it
TripAdvisor a website that some of you
may know or may have posted on they’ve
noticed that some of their restaurant
goers are sitting in a restaurant eating
dinner and they’re writing feedback
while they’re in the restaurant and the
restaurants can respond real-time they
can address issues before those
restaurant goers even get to dessert
so what happens when this wave of change
of performance management collides with
this real-time wave precipitated by the
Millennials you get a tidal wave and the
tidal wave we’re facing is one of
real-time feedback many of the companies
that you saw earlier they’re doing
exactly that they’re rolling out
real-time feedback tools as we ride this
wave getting feedback really right is of
the utmost importance because we can
only harness its power if we learn how
to do it articulate it deliver it
receive it and implement it and footnote
here
this isn’t feedback like you know it
today or may have experienced its
feedback packaged as coaching like the
kind Michelle gave me we’re on the brink
of a pretty radical change but are we
ready for it no I don’t think we are in
my 24 years of education I never learned
how to be a coach I never learned how to
deliver receive or implement feedback
and certainly not in real-time in fact I
never thought about any of those things
as discrete skills that had to be
learned or mastered and Bob I don’t
think he did either think about that for
a second
bob was giving feedback in a
professional setting for 25 years and I
don’t think he was ever given the
opportunity to learn how to do so
feedback is like a dark art we know we
need it we know it’s good for us but we
hate I mean really hate talking about it
and it is only just four things four
facets articulation are you a powerful
observer delivery are you effective at
communicating what it is that you
observed depending on who you’re talking
to
reception are you open actually open to
receiving feedback and implementation do
you have the nuggets of wisdom that you
need to turn that feedback into action
some organizations progressive
organizations are making this part of
the conversation they’re experimenting
with new tools new apps new frameworks
it won’t be one-size-fits-all there
won’t be one right answer an extension D
called this a great social experiment
these four facets are important pieces
of the performance management puzzle but
they have to go from once or twice a
year skills to everyday skills you need
to be as good at giving feedback as you
are at being a doctor or a lawyer or a
guitar player or a bellhop or a
financial analyst the future will
necessitate this as a core skill as
these real-time tools become the norm
there are effects both negative and
positive will be amplified
we have a window right now to master
this craft before the tidal wave arrives
and here’s the thing when you do when
you master this craft everybody will
want to work with you the most talented
and ambitious people will want to work
with you because they will know that you
can elevate them to a higher level of
their own ability I love working with
Michele she’s the best because every
time I work with her I grow I learn I
evolve who doesn’t want that by the way
Michele asks me for feedback all the
time which was scary in the beginning
actually it’s it’s still scary most
people think about coaching as being a
one-way dialogue from coach to player I
invite you to think about feedback as
being a two-way street that can go from
player back to coach to our real-time
world will be 360 degrees meaning that
the organizations that we work for that
you will work for in the future they
will ask for feedback on people all
around you
junior to you senior to your peers and
if you master this craft you will be
able to give all of those groups great
feedback and they will seek you out
because everybody wants to work with a
feedback hero so be one the companies
the organizations the teams that figure
this out first that teach it faster that
elevate their employees higher they will
win the war for talent and they will
also have the most engaged workforce
recall the 2015 Gallup poll found that
the single most important factor for
millenials and looking for a job was the
ability to learn and grow you can’t
invite them to learn and grow just once
every 10 months so how do we get there
how do we get to a world that is filled
with feedback heroes who’s responsible
for teaching us for teaching the
workforce for teaching the future
workforce we all are each one of us we
have to lead by example
we’ll make small changes every day high
schools and colleges they have a role to
play in this too the need to integrate
this into their curriculums like it’s
just as important as writing or driver’s
ed and the workplace this training needs
to be part of the curriculum every year
because together we can create virtuous
circles of learning so the next time
you’re in a meeting or a team huddle or
even a one-to-one spend that extra five
minutes at the end think deeply about
what you observed what you can offer
pick someone to give feedback to manage
to your outcome the outcome you want is
for that person to learn and grow
so deliver feedback with that framework
in mind when you start to do this the
world you inhabit will start to change
imagine you go to sleep every night
knowing how you can be better tomorrow
imagine you wake up every day excited to
learn
imagine you even look forward to a
performance review the ability to be a
real-time feedback hero is in your hands
thank you
you
Please follow and like us: