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It would be a big mistake for a team leader to underestimate the feedback subordinates can provide. Even if your roles are clearly separated and you, as the manager, are formally leading your team, your subordinates are still an invaluable resource, the ones who can help you the most in moving forward. Here are some tips for obtaining authentic and informative feedback on your management skills from your subordinates.
As the INSEAD Knowledge website states, your subordinates will never provide honest and beneficial feedback if they sense there is a bad atmosphere or mistrust in the team. The first step therefore is to create a healthy team atmosphere, based on trust, where everyone feels they can express their opinions freely.
If you do not want your subordinates to tell you only what you want to hear and keep to themselves anything you don't want, you need to let them know you are able to accept negative feedback. So if someone is critical or says something you did not expect or would rather not hear, you should not react negatively. Do not start making excuses, defending yourself or refuting the subordinate's opinion. On the contrary, take the comment to heart and cherish it all the more because you know the subordinate had to be quite courageous to say it to you.
The only way to get valuable feedback is to create space for people to give it to you. Do not expect them to appear out of the blue and start making comments about your management style. Regularly meet with your subordinates in individual sessions and give them the opportunity to offer you honest feedback without an audience present.
The last piece of advice is also the most important. Effective feedback must always work in a reciprocal manner. If you want your subordinates to give you continuous and authentic feedback, you must do the same for them. Show them in practice how beneficial good feedback is and how even negative feedback can be communicated in a constructive manner. This will make giving feedback a norm in your team. And your subordinates will give it to you automatically and naturally.
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