How do you use feedback to enhance your creativity and innovation?

I have found that for myself and when working with others, even constructive criticism provides insights into skills and gifts that people didn't know they had. New perspectives add to the library of information we have to consider about how we maneuver through situations. It is essential to provide opportunities to receive feedback and to allocate time to reflect on the feedback we receive. Feedback helps remain accountable to continuing to learn and grow.

Feedback is the key to growth and peak performance. It reveals areas for improvement and helps us evolve. High performers embrace feedback, especially in high-stakes situations where it can be a matter of life or death. To truly excel, we must be hungry for feedback, humble in accepting it, and eager to learn from our mistakes. Feedback is everything.

How do we give feedback? Is it effective? Is it inspirational? What are your preferences for getting feedback? Many years ago the One-Minute Manager technique was introduced. The notion was in one minute, the feeback would contain three elements. What's done well, what's not done well, and how improvements are made. We aren't always adept or even good at giving feedback. Learning how to give the best feedback, with retention and upgrades in performance as a result is an art and skill that can be learned and practiced with phenomenal results. Performance covers behavior, communication, and productivity. Happy people with the right resources get more done with less supervision and will meet, usually exceed, expectations.

Diverse feedback can come from people within some of the same groups. The key piece is making sure that various perspectives are being considered. How much time and attention is put into the sourcing of feedback is also dependent on what you are seeking feedback on. Consider what you hope to accomplish with the feedback when selecting how many types of feedback should be sought.

How we receive feedback is quite the expansive opportunity, from the sensations we get from the environment (people, places & things) to the direct feedback of others. Self-awareness is a key factor in the listening to feedback, let alone responding to it. Where is our listening from? We'll hear differently depending on the depth of openness and vulnerability we have to the feedback.Those with greater awareness tend to understand that feedback is important and that not everyone can deliver with cohesion and collaboration in resolving whatever event, process or situation is at hand. The same goes for the deliverer, understanding the process and keeping it focused on details, not personality, is imperative.

In my opinion and experience, learning how to filter and evaluate the source and the feedback itself, is absolutely key! Not everybody provides useful or valuable feedback. It's okay to discard. Of course, be gracious and grateful...but still discard it. If the feedback is relevant and useful (regardless the source), even if it dings your pride, implement it and use it to become better. Sometimes it will hurt your pride (speaking from experience), however, don't allow pride to get in your way of true growth. Feedback is the ultimate opportunity for growth and should be looked at as such.

All feedback, even that which is vague, confusing, etc. overall can include helpful information. I recommend you don't assume you have to disregard all of the feedback from one source because there are some parts that are "off". I like to review feedback and look for recurring comments and specific details that help to drive action-taking change.

The 'feel' or 'sense' of feedback is essential, aligning it with the focus of attention, intention and interaction. Appropriate, necessary, and valuable feedback will have a sense of resonance, even if it is delivered poorly. When one in genuinely wanting to grow, learn, and perform better HOW the message is received is often the deciding factor of whether it is heard or not, regardless of its salience. If/when conflict, confusion or contradictory information is perceived, hit the pause button and ask clarifying questions. We don't ask enough questions and often when we do it's perceived as a confrontation. Just remember that people want to be and do their best, in general. It's all about relationships.

My initial response is to say thank you. Sometimes I ask clarifying questions at the moment, but other times I ask if I can sit with the feedback for a little while. That gives me time to reflect on what has been said and think about how I may or may not be able to use it in actions I take forward. I journal about the feedback and accept all emotions I might feel about it. Using feedback productively does not require that we feel great about it when it is constructive criticism. If you have a trusted person who can remain neutral and not simply tell you that negative criticism is all wrong, it is helpful to talk through feedback.

A journal can be a great way to take ownership of growth and change via feedback. I know it sounds unpleasant to keep a collection of feedback that could include some potentially difficult-to-hear pieces of information. However, by writing down the feedback and action steps, it can feel less like something that was put on you and more like something that you are adopting to use forward. We are all continually learning and growing. We receive feedback from the air when we step outside without a coat. We change (put a coat on). Feedback and learning are essential parts of how we grow.

Feedback should be delivered in consideration of the situation being critiqued, the presence of other people and their roles, the universality of the feedback versus it being a personal opinion, if the feedback is already known, and the desired outcome from providing the feedback. For example, it does little good to tell someone who already knows that they are handing something in late that it is late. You could take the opportunity to work with someone on time management or find out if there were specific causes for the work being turned in late. In working with leaders at various organizations, I find that many times the intentions of the feedback are quite positive, but the delivery does not align with the intent.

Never be afraid of feedback. In the world of commercial pilots, we "debrief" each other after every single flight. After all, no flight ever operates perfectly from start to finish, despite our efforts, experience, and technical skill. We all have blind spots that by definition we aren't aware of and can't fix until someone else points them out (with kindness and professionalism). This is how we continue to get better at what we do!

I work with individuals and organizations on growth and change, with clients ranging from solopreneurs to multi-national corporations. Across-the-board, feedback collection, communication, application, and changing mapping are a challenge. Companies will send out surveys, but not discuss the results or make any changes. Leaders will talk about issues with those they lead, but do not provide feedback so that change can occur. People have been given really helpful suggestions on areas for improvement in productivity, health, and/or interpersonal interactions, but don't seek ways to understand how it can contribute to their learning and growth.