How to hear and honour feedback

Tim Mousseau, speaker, consultant, and researcher of Create Safe advises Fortune 1000 companies and leading trade organisations such as MPI and IMEX. He helps organisations build safe business cultures.

M&C Asia highlights what he shared at two sessions he led for SITE Chapter Leaders.

What prevents people from speaking up

Leaders need to know that regardless of their chapter's structure, size, or mission, hearing people's voices is vital to creating fulfilling experiences. Members often know the solutions to any issues leaders face. They also contain a multitude of creative insights that can elevate experiences. The concern is that when asking members to speak up openly and authentically, leaders might run into barriers that can cause them to shut up and shut down.

· Some members might fear speaking up due to concerns about ramifications in their social or professional networks.

· Others might have tried to speak up before, only to feel like their voice was unheard, ignored, or dismissed.

· Others might have never received training or guidance on advocating for their opinion.

· Barriers can get more complex by existing relationships, the chapter culture, varying personality styles, among other factors.

Valuing honest feedback and creative input

· Respond and do not leave people hanging - if people are willing to share their voices, leaders must recognise that they have been heard and respond to their ideas.

· Recognise that responding does not mean leaders must always take the exact action someone might desire. Whether or not they can act on people's opinions, leaders must ensure members know their voices were heard and their ideas have been considered.

· Do not wait for a perfect response - when validating someone's voice, perfect responses are not required. We like to receive information that removes ambiguity but leaders must acknowledge that they might not have all the answers or resources to advance an idea. Sometimes, simply validating that they heard a concern and are investing time in learning more is enough.

· If someone speaks up, leaders should keep them informed as they deliberate or act upon the idea.

· This is also true even if leaders cannot progress on an opinion.

· Validating people's voices is vital no matter how small someone's feedback might seem. If members have taken the time to speak up, this feedback matters to them, and leaders need to honour their effort.

· Publicly recognising people's ideas encourages others to speak up and inspires people with similar concerns to share their perspectives.

Publicly reward divergent opinions

· When people are willing to share ideas that go against current norms, especially if these ideas are instrumental in helping an organisation grow, it is worth acknowledging the courage it took for someone to speak against the grain.

· Recognising the effort it takes to voice ideas that might go against popular opinion can encourage others to speak up. When leaders do this, especially with divergent ideas, they can gauge how many other members agree with these new ideas.

· Before publicly acknowledging their feedback, ask such members if they approve of this. If someone desires privacy, ask them if their insights can be shared anonymously to inspire further conversation.

Right tools for feedback

· Everyone responds differently to prompts and communication channels. Some people relish interpersonal requests for opinions but dislike formal feedback collection methods such as surveys. Others might fear directly sharing their opinion and prefer anonymous feedback channels.

· Adopt a variety of tools to seek feedback. When leaders consider their tools, they can leverage their chapter leaders' relationships, networks, and skill sets.

· Each chapter will have different levels of formal and informal relationships. Where one member might feel uncomfortable responding to one leader's request for feedback, others might feel comfortable talking with another leader where a rooted relationship already exists.

· When collecting feedback, no one leader should be responsible for seeking out every voice.

Less is more

· Whether leaders are seeking feedback in a one-on-one conversation or sending out a formal survey following an event, ask fewer questions. Less is more. People are exhausted by long surveys, especially if their responses have no actual impact on future decisions. This is also true in interpersonal interactions.

· Ask more targeted questions. Although leaders might cover fewer topics, the responses received will likely be more robust and offer better insights into how to create more meaningful change.