Leadership Insights has focused on receiving feedback, both from individuals and groups. Continuing this theme, let's focus on an often overlooked or misused tool and talk about positive feedback. There are three common pitfalls to avoid so your feedback leads to the result you’re looking for—continuous improvement. 

Feedback is tough on the ego, and it can be particularly challenging when it comes from several people. In working with leaders and their Employee Engagement Survey data or other group feedback, Talent Strategy finds three common roadblocks to making the most of group feedback. 

Feedback is one of the building blocks for learning and growth—it helps build self-awareness, improve skills, and deepen our understanding of the impact of our actions. When people share feedback, it provides an opportunity to course correct to reach desired outcomes. Despite all the benefits of feedback, it’s difficult for many of us to receive and act on it. To continue growing, all leaders need strategies and techniques to really hear and benefit from the feedback they receive.

Last fall 75% of faculty and staff responded to the 2021 Employee Engagement Survey. While the survey results show that employee experience and engagement varies widely by campus, college, unit, and department, one thing is clear regardless of location: when managers and leaders address employee engagement, faculty and staff are more likely to be engaged. 

As the vaccine becomes more widely available there is a sense of cautious optimism for the future. We can begin to imagine what life will be like when more faculty and students return to in person teaching and learning and more staff meet and work face-to-face. 

Still we know that our work post-pandemic will not be the same as it was pre-pandemic. Some of our work may continue to be done remotely, some of the systems and processes that were developed to meet the challenges of the pandemic will continue, and there will be new obstacles to address. 

Adjusting our expectations for performance and productivity doesn't mean lowering our expectations. Instead, it means acknowledging the challenges that we've faced and offering feedback and support with grace and compassion to those we supervise, as well as ourselves.

Data from the most recent Employee Engagement survey identified an opportunity for leaders and supervisors to develop a culture of feedback at the University. For some, giving and receiving feedback comes naturally while others need to be intentional in providing feedback. Whatever the case, as someone who oversees the work of others, you can make a big impact on developing a culture of feedback at the University of Minnesota.