Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. FEEDBACK is one of the components that every organisation that wants to grow and be established in the market should embrace.
A company that does not prioritise feedback is bound to fail.
Feedback must be seen in a positive light and a way to improve and grow the organisation.
Seeking feedback as a leader is a sign of strength, not weakness.
It shows a commitment to growth, humility, and serving teams better.
Smart leader who are good at seeking feedback must do the following:
Create safe spaces
A progressive and effective leader will lay down rules and policies that will pave way for a safe space at the workplace.
Management will push for a policy that advocates teamwork and unity in the organisation.
This will create a safe space for employees.
Distractions such as discrimination, criticisms, and other forms of abuse will not be tolerated.
A workplace where there is a safe space functions well, and its workforce tends to be progressive, productive and most of the time their morale is high.
Safe workspaces create some goodness.
Improved performance and productivity
Most of the times when a worker feels not valued and appreciated, they will become disengaged and just go through the motions of their daily assignments.
However, when an employee feels valued and appreciated, their performance, productivity and engagement tend to be high.
Notably employees who feel valued will concentrate on their delegated task and strive to meet targets.
Most of the time workers who operate in a safe space tend to produce good quality work.
Effective communication
A safe environment enables managers and their subordinates to communicate effectively.
In a case where an employee feels that they did not understand the communicated message they could approach the manager for clarification.
Most of the time managers who have created and operated in safe spaces have open communication — they are approachable and have an open-door policy.
In a safe working environment, employees are encouraged to share ideas during meetings, where they are not supposed to be victimised or criticised harshly when they contribute ideas.
Moreover, employees could share ideas and learn from their colleagues in other business units.
Employees could share problems or challenges among themselves during their informal meetings without disrupting production time.
Innovative workers are likely to try new ways of doing work and discover efficient ways of doing delegated tasks.
Attract competent employees
There is no worker who prefers not to work in a safe work environment.
So, it follows that all employees prefer to work at a safe space where they will execute their duties freely and not be ill-treated or verbally abused when they make mistakes.
Most workers prefer to work under approachable and forward–thinking managers.
There are some managers who assume that salaries are the only pull factor that attracts employees to a company, but little do they know that psychological safety in the workplace is actually the number one reason employees choose to stay with a company.
Listen without being defensive
For one to be an effective leader, they need to be a listening leader.
A servant style of leadership enables workers to air their grievances, concerns, views and suggestions.
In this scenario, a manager or a leader should be open for discussion and create a safe space for discussions.
When a manager engages employees without being defensive, they could offer feedback and ideas that could be implemented for the success of the organisation.
A listening manager is in a better position to learn what an informal set-up in the form of a workers committee is planning, instead of finding out from the grapevine.
For example, if they are planning to call for industrial action, a manager who has developed a good work relationship with the employees will quickly be informed and come up with a communication strategy to handle the situation.
Seek feedback
A manager must intentionally seek feedback because feedback acts as a compass that guides the organisation in the right direction.
A company cannot progress or grow properly without getting feedback to learn whether it is moving in the right direction or not.
Successes or challenges are noted via feedback.
In organisations that prioritise feedback, there is continuous improvement in communication, strategising and management.
Take action
When you get feedback from employees, it is proper to go to the drawing board and map the way forward on how to solve challenges that have been highlighted.
It is important for a manager to show that they are listening to their employees through giving feedback by say for example making visible changes and acknowledging the people who speak up.
This builds trust and encourages more honest input.
Smart leaders recognise that feedback is a gift, not a threat and they should embrace it — always.
Make it a routine or culture
Smart leaders do not wait for annual reviews.
They build a rhythm during which regular check-ins or pulse surveys are conducted to maintain a steady communication within the team.
Feedback becomes part of the ethos of the organisation, not a one-off event.
Inviting feedback is not just what you do, but how you lead — that is where the growth takes place.
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