Feedback to your Manager

Feedback – We all need feedback. It plays a major role in improving anything. Improvement is a never ending process and feedback is an efficient fuel for it. We all need feedback to know how the things are going on and where to adjust their actions.

Across horizontal and vertical hierarchical structure in any organization, feedback is required from each and every individual to concerned people whom they are interacting on regular basis. This is something called as 360 degree feedback cycle, a new term invented by HR recently. Now providing feedback is quite simple for anyone to his/her subordinates. But unfortunately, it’s not always easy to obtain feedback from direct reports. Somehow, we've come to believe that feedback only flows downhill. Vice presidents give feedback to directors, directors gives feedback to managers, and so on, all the way down the hierarchy. But managers need feedback from their groups, as well, to understand how they are performing their jobs. I mean direct information from the people who rely on their managers to create an atmosphere where they can be successful.

Some of the very common thoughts about “hesitation of providing feedback to your manager” are:

1. “If I criticize him, I will see the effects when it comes to annual salary review”.
2. “Feedback is one-way street with my manager”.
3. “It’s not my job. He should know how he’s doing. He’s the manager, after all”.
4. “How can I provide feedback to my manager? He is boss, who is always right.”
5. “He is not my manager. He is my ideal.”
6. “He will not listen to whatever I will say. Better to keep my mouth shut.”
7. “He will not improve even if I say something to him.”
8. “I don’t trust my manager. He will take my comments on other side.”

Now all the above points are valid at some place or other. So the whole story of all the above 8 points have come up to a summary line that it is really difficult for any individual to provide the feedback comments to his/her superior. So what to do?

The manager’s should come up in this scenario and ask for the honest feedback from their direct reports. So as a manager, one must have to work extra hard to create a comfortable environment with T2 (Trust and Transparency) so that each and every individual feel free to provide feedback to you. The first way to build trust with the people, who report to you, is to demonstrate that you trust them. Demonstrating trust includes both the absence and presence of behavior from both the parties. One should be transparent, consistent and committed towards his/her professional responsibilities to create trust within the group. It is the only trust which will create a healthy environment for each and every individual. And trust redirects everyone to provide an honest and true feedback to everyone in the group, either to your seniors or to your juniors.

But how to do that? In my opinion, managers should create a feedback document with all the points that is required to all the direct reports for smoother operations with in the group. These points could be availability, approachability, commitments, transparency, technical expertise, managerial aspects, problem solving skills and many more. It depends on case to case. Seeking feedback shows that you value the group’s perceptions and want to provide them what they need to do their jobs.

-- Sanat Sharma