You and I know that giving meaningful and constructive feedback is not easy particularly if you believe you have something to say.  Much more difficult is the receiving of feedback. I have to confess that I just do not handle the recieving of feedback as well as I should especially when there is a challenge to change.

I am yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism. ~ Charles Schwab

One valuable tool to aid your leadership journey is your willingness to give and receive feedback. Feedback will help you steer your course, maintain focus and give you the good feeling that comes from knowing you are making progress in the direction of your goals. Feedback is your friend. Seek it earnestly and profit from the valuable information derived from it.

How do you feel when you receive feedback? I conducted a survey amongst my work colleagues and these are the top three answers?

1. It encourages me to do things better.
2. It helps me build and acquire the knowledge that I would not otherwise have.
3. It increases my confidence and I am more productive at my job.

To grow from feedback we need to be challenged to improve on our current standard. Some will call this negative feedback, but I say that a challenge to improve and do better need not be a negative feedback. If receiving feedback brings the best out of you, why don’t you harness the giving of effective feedback to bring the best out of your team.

The WWW – What Went Well and EBI – Even Better If is one method of giving feedback that is used successfully in organisations. What went well simply means that you have to pay attention and comment on some of the things that worked. To make the work even better, you will need to point out some areas of improvement in a positive manner. For more on this visit http://stevesutherland45.wordpress.com/

If you live in the Toastmasters International world of public speaking where evaluation is an important part of members development, a used method of feedback is to Commend Recommend and then Commend. You commend the effort by telling your audience what worked well for you. You recommend an area of improvement and then you commend again to leave the speaker on a high note and in other not to diminish the sense of achievement that is felt after having completed a task.

Feedback is the Breakfast of champions ~ Ken Blanchard  

Here are five tips to giving effective feedback.

1. Focus on the activity or performance and not on the person.
2. Recognise achievement.
3. Be candid.
4. Remember that its only your opinion and others may have a different opinion
5. The purpose of feedback is to encourage improvement so provide useful recommendations.

Here are five tips to receiving feedback

1. It’s not about you so do not take it personal.
2. Its only the givers opinion and your product or presentation may just not be for him or her.
3. Even if you do not agree with the opinion, please be respectful and thank the person for taking the time and effort to give you feedback.
4. Do not defend your performance but seek to improve your performance at the next opportunity.
5. Do not get carried away by the praise. Listen attentively and seek out areas for growth and improvement.

How receptive are you to receiving feedback?