Growing Teams and Culture with Actionable Feedback (LeadDev Together 2020)

Providing feedback is such a fundamental concept within management that it's surprisingly easy to overlook it as a skill. But delivering feedback is indeed a skill, and it can be done well or done poorly. Luckily it's something we can all improve in as long as we approach delivering feedback strategically.

Using Lara Hogan's Feedback Equation, I'll discuss how managers can deliver both redirecting and reinforcing feedback that is specific, objective, and actionable. I'll also discuss why the context in which you deliver feedback is critical for its reception, and reflect on why the opportunity to deliver feedback is a privilege rather than a burden.

* Talk notes: https://blog.danielna.com/talks/growing-teams-and-culture-with-actionable-feedback/
* LeadDev Together 2020: https://together.leaddev.com/programme/developing-your-team

Transcript

1. Dan Na, Squarespace LeadDev Together | September 1, 2020 | @dxna Growing Teams and Culture with Actionable Feedback 1
2. Itinerary 1. Why developing a strategy around delivering feedback is important 2. A framework on how to craft actionable feedback (Lara Hogan's "Feedback Equation") 3. Closing takeaways 2
3. Why developing a strategy around delivering feedback is important 3
4. 4 “Office Space” by 20th Century Fox
5. 5 Management North Stars 1. Our teams are shipping the right software, well.
6. Management North Stars 1. Our teams are shipping the right software, well. 2. Our teams operate under psychological safety. 6
7. While it is obvious that it is your responsibility to deliver feedback to course correct a project or a bad technical decision, 7
8. The manner in which you deliver that feedback will normalize into your culture. 8
9. The Feedback Equation 9 https://larahogan.me/blog/feedback-equation/
10. Redirecting Feedback Reinforcing Feedback 10
11. 11 “Good feedback is specific, actionable, and helps the other person grow.”
12. Mary is the senior-most engineer on your team. She is friendly, very high output and has a strong technical reputation, but in her enthusiasm she often dominates conversations in meetings and interrupts others who can't seem to "keep up" with her pace. 12
13. You've just left an architecture scoping meeting where she dominated the conversation and regularly interrupted James, a more junior teammate. 13
14. 14 1: The Observation “If you had a video camera, what would have been recorded?”
15. 15 Non-Observations 1. "You were really rude in the meeting." 2. "It was obvious to everyone in the meeting that you think James is stupid."
16. 16 Actual Observation "You interrupted James several times when he began to speak about the frontend build process."
17. 17 2: The Impact Why the observation matters.
18. GUT CHECK If you're considering delivering feedback on something and can't think of a meaningful impact, maybe you shouldn't. 18
19. Impact: Team “I spoke to James about it, and your interruption made him feel like his contribution isn’t valued. Others on the team also take it as signal that they should stay quiet during meetings. If teammates don't actively participate in these discussions, they don't learn how to architect systems. That impacts their growth and slows our team velocity.” 19
20. Impact: Incentives 20 “I also know you're interested in being promoted to Staff Engineer. In the career ladder a key cultural expectation of Staff Engineers is to actively level-up their teammates by example, both technically and culturally. Not allowing more junior teammates to participate in meetings is inconsistent with the Staff Engineer level.”
21. 21 3: The Question or Request Ensuring your feedback is actionable.
22. 22 Question • "Can you help me understand your approach in that meeting?"
23. Question • "Can you help me understand your approach in that meeting?" • "What are some things you think you can do moving forward to ensure everyone feels safe speaking up in architecture meetings? 23
24. Request “Would you mind letting James finish his thoughts in meetings before interjecting? I think it'd help James feel more comfortable speaking up, learn more about architectural patterns, and encourage him to take more ownership of his work.” 24
25. “Mary - I loved how you involved James in the architecture steering by soliciting his input on key deliverables. It’s clear that James and everyone else on the team feel more comfortable participating in these meetings and are growing technically as a result. Thank you for your leadership.” 25 Reinforcing Feedback
26. 26 The Feedback Equation
27. Takeaways around delivering feedback 27
28. TAKEAWAY #1 Optimize feedback for reception, not delivery. 28
30. 30 Feedback Context • Career level / goals • Personality • Life events • Socio-political climate • A pandemic!
31. 31 Developing Context • Regular 1:1s • Proactively bring topics to the table • Ask for feedback on feedback
32. TAKEAWAY #2 Delivering feedback is a privilege. 32
33. @dxna talks.danielna.com Thank you. 33