Let's face it, we all want to create a high-performing team, culture, product or service that ripples throughout our business and into the market. But what is required to do this? How do we go about it?
So, we do some clever thinking and come up with some strategies to get there. We improve systems, processes, create new products or services. We implement with some success but often don't get the results we originally aimed for. We might create a new super cool set of values and behaviours. They sound awesome but living them in the day to day is another challenge.
It's likely we send our leaders and many of our people to training in the hope it will transform them to their potential. It ticks the box but doesn't improve them as much as we were hoping. We know engagement is important, so we implement lots of initiative to gets the highest level possible. The on-site chef has to be enough right?! And then the rest. Maybe some other creative ideas or even some of the basics improved again and again.
There a lot to do. Yet we often make it more complicated than it needs to be. It's just that we don't know how to go about it and the return on investment it gives us. Embedding a feedback culture is the foundation for actually making this happen.
What we are lacking is pragmatic, easily foreseeable strategies to help leaders, teams and organisations embed feedback until it's how they roll. Until a cadence is set that means we talk about all the stuff that matters, when we need to, and we build better and deeper relationships with each other and our customers as a result.
Inside Feedback Flow you'll find straight-talking, illustrated solutions that are easy to understand and practical to deliver. It is possible to create lasting change and become the team or organisation that people love working in and for. (Yes, really).
It's important to realize that behaviour can only change if conditions are favourable. There are five simple yet essential components to put in place to make the change stick. In this case, to embed a culture of feedback.
- It starts with YOU. Unless the people understand why and are on board the change will be near impossible. Especially the leaders. Let's work on them first and inspire the rest of the business thereafter.
- Train 'n' Support. Yep there is training. It's fun, engaging and highly pragmatic. Then we ensure there are systems and processes to remind and motivate people to embed what they are learnt into the everyday.
- Measure 'n' Tweak. There is no point changing anything if we don't measure it. Then we look at what's working, what's not and make the changes necessary to keep moving forward.
- Accountability with Rigour. How ironic would it be to implement a feedback culture yet not hold each other to account on the changes? Let's not do that. Let's also do it with candour and grace.
- 90 Day Focus. Creating short spurts of change, that link to the strategic plans for the team or organisation is a game changer! We create thematic chunks of change and just when people creating new habits and dip in momentum, we create a new one. It's brilliant!
The focus here will be around creating a feedback cadence. One where people's capability to give and feedback, in the everyday, meets their motivation to do want to do it. It's what I call our 'Feedback Flow'. And it's easier than you think.
