Here is a simple tip to get employees to both be willing to receive negative feedback and implement it:
“Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman argue against the default assumption that most managers dislike giving negative feedback because they assume that people don’t like to receive it. In their survey of 899 people, Zenger and Folkman found that 57% of survey respondents prefer receiving corrective feedback and “when asked what was most helpful in their career, fully 72% said they thought their performance would improve if their managers would provide corrective feedback.”
Unsurprising? Knowing how to improve should help you improve, after all. The more significant takeaway from Zenger and Folkman’s research was that honest feedback is a two-way street. They “found that subordinates whose managers did not listen to their point of view before offering up feedback were significantly less interested in receiving negative feedback.”
So again, the first step for a project manager or peer that is trying to reach a colleague and share feedback that is effective and supportive is to be open to receiving it.”
