Being aware of how you manage workplace relationships and how others are affected by it allows you to know how to adjust your methods accordingly. Managing this involves seeking, evaluating, and applying feedback. Feedback can range from comments about the processes you developed to suggestions about your leadership style.
This chapter involves evaluating your performance as a leader. Here, you will learn about seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders about how you manage work relationships. The feedback you receive can then be used to improve and rate your performance as a leader. Lastly, this chapter will also help you evaluate your own performance and identify areas you can improve on. This is important because as a leader, it is vital that you become the best version of yourself so that others can follow by example.
Successful communication is a two-way street. If management is doing all the talking, employees tend to tune out. Apart from giving feedback, you should also seek it from the employees within the organisation. Getting feedback about the way you manage workplace relationships will help you pinpoint which areas you did well in and which areas need improvement.
Feedback is defined as information concerning one’s understanding and performance. It gives you information on your progress in an effort to reach your goals. Feedback is needed because of the following reasons:
- It helps you avoid mistakes
- It motivates you to do better
- It keeps you on track
- It advances your career
- It helps you assess your workplace performance
Ideally, how you managed relationships between your subordinates should be reviewed in a group meeting or consultation, assessing all elements of the process and the outcomes. Change the process, as necessary, according to these review cycles and in response to organisational changes in policies and procedures.
You should be seeking feedback from the relevant stakeholders, who in this case, are anyone who your processes have affected, such as:
- colleagues
- employees you manage
- supervisors
- employees from other departments
- co-workers
Seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders is vital to promote professional and personal growth. For example, consulting with co-workers can help analyse their respective relationships. It gives them an avenue to talk about the status of their relationships, such as the positive and negative aspects of their relationships. Feedback also helps you obtain information on how to optimise your work practices and get things done faster. It also helps you avoid repetitive mistakes and helps keep everyone on track.
It is normal for you to wonder whether you successfully completed a task or if your performance needs work. Seeking feedback can confirm your thoughts and motivate you to do better. There are many ways to seek feedback.
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You can seek feedback through:
- surveys
- focus groups
- questionnaires
- email correspondence
- meeting with relevant stakeholders
Seeking feedback from others is not always easy. You may sometimes feel like your questions may sound stupid or that whoever you choose to approach might not want to give you feedback. Despite this, it is important to note that:
- Asking for feedback is normal, especially in a workplace setting
- Asking for feedback saves you time and effort from figuring things out on your own
- You can gain control over your fear and express your thoughts without being judged
- Others will learn from your questions just like you will learn from their feedback
Asking for feedback may seem daunting at first, but it is something that you can overcome. When seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders, always ensure that you ask for feedback correctly.
Refer to the following guide for steps on how you can seek feedback from relevant stakeholders:
Remember to explain why you are seeking their feedback and how their honest feedback can help you in the long run. Encourage them to avoid holding back. You will need honest feedback to improve your performance and to grow in the workplace. You can state your intentions by:
- Scheduling a meeting with your stakeholders
- Asking open-ended questions
- Asking rating-based or yes/no questions
- Asking clarifying questions
- Asking for honesty
Listening is one of the most important steps in seeking feedback. Ensure to listen to what the stakeholders are saying whether it may be positive or negative. Positive or negative feedback is still feedback. You must always be willing to accept whatever their opinions are. Writing their comments down will not only help you remember what they said but will also help you internalise what they are saying. It will help you process your emotions and will also give you something to look back on. You can list down your successes and the areas that you can improve on.
When seeking feedback, it is important to focus more on what you can improve on rather than what you did wrong. Remember to focus on the future and avoid dwelling on your mistakes. Ask what you can improve on moving forward and always be willing to listen.
Because feedback can be either positive or negative, it is essential to separate what is being said from how it is being said. People may sometimes fail to notice how they are conveying their message. Always take the time to understand what they are saying and do not take their feedback too personally. Remember that what they are saying can help you in the long run.
After the feedback session, review each comment that you received. Consider each comment and think of ways and situations they can be applied. If there is anything that confuses you, you can reach out to the person who gave you feedback, even after the meeting and ask them to clarify. Following up clears any confusion and shows that you remember and care about their feedback.
Depending on the feedback you receive, you might need to follow up by asking them to elaborate on it. The more specific the feedback you get, the better. It can also help to ask for examples or suggestions, such as how you can change certain aspects of the process or aspects of how you relate to others. If they have suggestions that you do not agree with, you can explain your views to let them know why.
While analysing the feedback you received, you can also check if it has the following characteristics:
- specific
- timely
- honest
- goal-oriented
- recurring
Is the feedback specific to a certain aspect of the processes or your leadership style? Are there specific situations that the feedback addresses?
Is the feedback based on a recent situation?
Is the person giving the feedback candid with you? Did they give the feedback out of the desire to see you improve?
Is the feedback focused on key aspects of your process or leadership style? Are they meant to guide you towards improvement?
Have you received similar feedback from different people?
You do not need to implement every single suggestion made if you think that they are not suitable, but make it a point to acknowledge them and explain why you will not be using them. If you simply ignore the feedback, the person who gave it may feel that you do not care about their opinion. By explaining your side, they can gain better insight into how your processes work and feel that their views are valued.
Self-evaluation is an important part of any workplace. It helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses and they help you judge your performance as well. A big part of self-evaluations is reflecting on your successes, failures, pros, and cons. Doing so can help you identify what you are good at, whether you are on the right track and aspects of yourself that may need improvement.
An evaluation plan is often used to facilitate self-evaluations. It is developed to:
An evaluation plan helps you in decision-making because it gives you insights on areas that may need improvement. It can also provide you with insights into the pros and cons of the decisions made.
Organisations can use previous evaluations as guides in making decisions. For example, you want to start a new work practice that aims to give employees 30- minute breaks in the afternoons. A previous evaluation from a different organisation shows that 30-minute afternoon breaks made employees feel lazy. Knowing this information can help you gain insights on what to expect if your proposed work practice is implemented.
Evaluations can be time-consuming. Following an evaluation plan will help you manage your time better and will also help you create more realistic decisions.
Developing an evaluation plan has four main steps:
Step 1: Creating a timeline for evaluation activities
This step occurs right at the beginning of your process. Creating timelines can help you identify important sequences and events. It will also help you establish when you should begin your evaluation and when you will be conducting it. It would be best if more focus were given to evaluating even the initial to the final stages of your process. This step will help you create changes that might improve your process along the way.
You can expect to find the following in an evaluation timeline:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Date | This contains month, year or exact date of when you first started your activity |
| Project goal | This contains your project's goals |
| Activity | This contains the activities assigned to this period |
| Expected completion date | This contains the month, year or exact date of when you plan to end your activity |
Step 2: Clarifying program goals and objectives
This step clarifies the main tasks you want to accomplish and the steps needed to accomplish them. It also helps you identify the major process components that need to be evaluated.
Step 3: Developing evaluation questions
Evaluation questions help you determine what you want to evaluate. These questions will help you determine the data you will be using, analysing, and reporting. Evaluation questions address the following:
- Impact on the community and the participants
- Planning and implementation issues
- Evaluation of whether or not objectives were met
Step 4:Developing evaluation methods
There are many types of evaluation methods. Some common evaluation methods are:
Grading systems are one of the simplest and most common methods of evaluation. They can assess performance based on points from a standardised scale. You might be familiar with this type of evaluation method from school, but organisations use this type of evaluation method as well. Examples of grading systems include:
- Scales from 1 to 5
- Scales from poor to excellent
- Letter grades from A to F
Surveys and interviews are one of the easiest methods to evaluate a process. They allow you to gain insights on the viewpoints of your co-workers and can also help you identify factors that may have caused the success or failure of certain events. Lastly, they inform you of aspects that should be improved.
Reports will help you determine if you achieved your initial goals and proposed changes. They share important findings and recommendations that may give you ideas on what you can improve in your work. Examples of reports include:
- Financial reports
- Project progress reports
- Feasibility reports
- Audit reports
Once you evaluate your performance, you can then use the information you obtained to make corrections on things you may have done wrong and improve yourself. Always ensure to remember to remain positive and to continue doing your best, regardless of your evaluation’s results.
Incorporating the evaluation process into your work tasks means that it will become a part of everything you do. For example, managers evaluate their employee’s performance to help them do their jobs better. Evaluations will help you understand what is expected of you and will also motivate you to work harder.
After creating your evaluation plan, you may then begin incorporating the improvements you identified when you evaluated your process. Incorporating improvements helps you become more productive and efficient. It also makes you more productive and efficient and will help you identify improvements that will be useful in accomplishing future tasks.
The information you obtained from your evaluations can be used to:
The information you obtained from your evaluations can be an indicator that you might need to look into existing practices in your organisation. For example, you received a result on an evaluation conducted on using MS Teams in your workplace. This information might make you want to check whether MS Teams is still an effective means of communication or if another application should take its place. Your results will help you determine if your current practice should still be implemented in the future.
Evaluations can help you assess whether you reached your goals and objectives for a particular task. The information you obtained from these evaluations may also help you assess whether your current goals and objectives are achievable. Once you assess your goals and objectives, you can then use the information you obtained to improve your performance on future tasks.
Evaluations can help you see what you can improve to develop a better relationship with your stakeholders. You may use your evaluation findings to look at what needs to be improved, replaced, or retained in your process. You may also research ways that may help you achieve your stakeholder’s desired outcomes.
Evaluation and improvement are two things that go hand-in-hand. As mentioned earlier, your evaluation findings can help you improve your work practices, goals, objectives, and your relationship with stakeholders. Possible areas for improvement can include:
- Time management
- Communication
- Facilitating collaborations
- Conflicts resolution
- Work relationships
To use your evaluation findings to improve your work, you must:
- Share what you learned: Improving workplace practices will always require help from other people. Because of this, it is significant to share what you learned with your teammates and co-workers. Sharing what you learned can help promote accountability and transparency in the workplace.
- Recognise achievements: Evaluations do not solely deliver bad news. They can deliver good news, too! If your findings reflect good news, ensure to share your team’s success stories and recognise your staff’s achievements. This will not only make your staff feel good, but it will encourage them to work harder as well.
- Improve your work: Evaluations help you recognise what needs to be improved in your organisation. If your evaluation findings show that a certain process or practice needs improvement, do not hesitate to brainstorm ideas that may help you do a better job.
You can also use your evaluation findings to help you
Studying your evaluation findings can help you determine where you went wrong and why you did not achieve your desired outcome. Knowing what went wrong and what caused it will help you think of ways to improve your process.
Knowing what needs to be evaluated will help you determine which tasks you should do first and which could be done later. Ensure to prioritise the tasks with the most changes and work your way from there.
You can use your evaluation findings to assess what your staff needs to help them achieve better results. You can also study your findings to determine the strengths, weaknesses, and skills of each of your workmates. Doing this will help you assign tasks according to where your workmates would succeed the most.
Evaluation findings can help you assess whether you need to make drastic or minimal changes to your process. They also help you assess how much time will be needed to make these changes.
The feedback you receive can also help you think of specific ways you can improve your work relationships. For example, it can help you patch things up with co-workers you have had conflicts with. It can help you improve your existing relationship with your co-workers, as well.
Some ways you can improve your workplace relationships include:
- Organising a team building activity: Team building can be used to improve co-worker relationships because the activities included usually aim to build collaboration and teamwork. Participating in such activities improves co-workers’ relationships with each other.
- Being present in your workplace: Being present in your workplace will help you improve your relationship with your co-workers. It will help them see more of you and your personality. It will also show them that you care about your job and everyone in your workplace. The more present you are and the more you interact with your co-workers, the greater chances you have of being friends with them.
These are but a few ways that will help you strengthen your relationship with your co-workers. Ask your workmates about things you can improve to achieve the best results.
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