Feedback –

Aim for continuous improvements

       Encourage and welcome continuous feedback – it’s the key for making continuous improvements in your life, or in your business.

        Feedback should be encouraged and developed as it can serve as an early warning system for problems and grievances.

        Try not to be defensive, be grateful for constructive feedback and helpful criticism.

        Don’t look for praise, look for constant improvement!

A handful of tips to help you make constant improvements

* Aim to stimulate feedback

        Go out of the way to establish a rapport with others before asking direct questions.

        Very often social events are a good place to chat for constructive feedback.

        Exit interviews, if well handled, can be a good source of useful feedbacks.   

* Ask direct and open questions

        “What did we do right?”

        “What did we do wrong?”

         “How can we do better next time?”

        “If you were the boss what would you have done?”

       Learn to use silence to stimulate comments. Pause and wait in silence.

* Watch for body language

       Many people tend to say what they think you want to hear, but often their body language can give you a clue to their real feelings.

* Ask for rapid feedback

       Ask for rapid feedback as soon as possible after an event, such as a meeting, a conference or a presentation.

* Thank people for their feedback

       Focus on successes rather than on mistakes.

        Praise for helpful honest comments will often stimulate further feedback.

        Our tasks and our mistakes should be examined, learned from and discarded – not dwelled upon.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

‘Criticism , like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a person’s growth.”

For those in need,  download our FREE book “NO JOB! WHAT NOW? available from our website.

Source: Time-Savers, Moss Associates .Ltd  New Zealand; McGraw-Hill, Australia; Times Business Books,  a Federal Publishing House, Singapore and  Qingdao Publishing House, China.