The Power of Feedback

What sends shivers of dread throughout the workplace more than knowing it's annual performance review time, when every failure is revisited and every flaw magnified? What about the dreaded 360 degree review, where one gets to face the criticism not only from the boss, but also from one's peers and subordinates? Ugh. In this book, Folkman wants us to shift that paradigm by recognizing feedback, properly given, as one of the best gifts we can receive in the workplace. We need to accept feedback as a gift that it is and use that gift in shaping our future conduct. The book is organized around a discussion of 35 principles, divided into nine chapters. I found the organization and the 35 principles to be a tad cumbersome -- so I'll focus on what I sensed were the main points. The first part of the book focuses on overcoming resistance to feedback. There were plenty of examples of individuals rejecting, rationalizing, attempting to explain away negative feedback instead of accepting and trying to understand it. Folkman encourages us to focus on the "pull" of feedback rather than the "push". The "push" is looking at the feedback as negative, as a horrible flaw that someone else is making us fix. The "pull" is looking at the opportunities and benefit that will derive to us if we fix the flaw. An easy example -- the doctor says you ought to lose weight. "Push" thinking is -- I can't anything good; I just get these small portions of bland veggies. This is torture. "Pull" thinking is -- this is great; I get to eat all of this healtful, nutritious food, I'm learning about portion control, and in a few months, all of those too-tight clothes in the back of my closet will look great on me, not to mention, my blood pressure will come down. This diet is really my ticket to a longer, happier life." Likewise, if someone can accept feedback as an opportunity to help pull them to greater career success rather than simply criticism, the value becomes apparent. In addition to the discussion of overcoming resistance and learning to appreciate feedback as a gift, Folkman discusses how best to use the feedback as a development tool. Interestingly, Folkman suggests that unless feedback has identified what he calls a "fatal flaw," which obviously demands immediate attention, we are generally better served by trying to improve our strengths rather than trying to improve our weaknesses. Not a large percentage of folks have "fatal flaws" -- most of us are good at some things and less good at others. Folkman convincingly explains why we should focus on improving what we're already good at rather than improving areas of mediocrity. Folkman recognizes that change is difficult, and it only occurs when the person wants to change (thus the importance of focusing on the pull rather than the push). Folkman discusses "companion behaviors" -- if one behavior is particularly difficult to change, work on certain collateral behaviors and as a first step. One no