Lately I have been delving into feedback with Courageous Leaders.
Feedback is the information we all fear giving and receiving. We are afraid that we will hurt people’s feelings by what we say and will feel hurt by the perceived judgement of the words they use.
However, feedback is the shortest way and first step to growing and improving.
Professional Development is a passive way of improving our craft. It is easy to understand the takeaways, but it is hard to implement the tuition.
Feedback on the other hand, delivered well, can have immediate rewards as implementation is built on what we already know. The actions just need to be added to or adjusted to the knowledge we already have.
As John Hattie referred to feedback as a consequence of performance.
"Feedback is information provided by an agent regarding aspects of one's
performance or understanding. Feedback is a consequence of performance.”
John Hattie, Power of Feedback 2007.
This is where the art of reflection comes into play. Feedback only gets you halfway. It is reflection that embeds the necessary newly acquired knowledge.
Reflection is the aftermath of feedback – the second step. Our natural reaction to any new knowledge depends on how much effort it will take to implement and the degree of motivation to reach the desired outcome. And the brain being a shortcut master, will often take the shortest path which is to avoid extra work.
Taking time to reflect on the feedback offered and logically going through the options and barriers to success, is where the feedback turns into growth.
Hence reflection is tomorrow’s growth.
Is feedback and reflection an integral part of your growth routine?
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