Last week, we discussed the importance of feedback. This week, we're moving from the "Why" to a high-level "How." While evaluations and annual reviews provide opportunities for in-depth discussions on performance, day-to-day feedback is crucial for sharing critical information so seamlessly we become a unit regularly in a flow state.

Achieving a natural feedback flow takes time. At Sunlit Strategies, we’ve developed a culture of continuous feedback exchange while planning projects, writing together, and designing workshops. We hold post-project debriefs, but we don't wait until then to share our thoughts—we communicate feedback freely, erring on the side of over-communication.

But it took us time to reach this point. Many of us had developed poor feedback habits over the years or simply lacked practice since we hadn’t been formally taught this essential relationship skill. Our most common feedback habits include being uneven, unhelpful, and unfit.

Everyone knows (or has been) the uneven giver: "Negative Nancy" always has something critical to say, while "Positive Polly" avoids difficult conversations, hindering her own and her team's growth. To address this, we strive to stay balanced. Some prefer the classic "compliment/critique sandwich," but regardless of the approach, we track and balance how often we highlight what works versus what doesn't.

Un-useful feedback prioritizes our ego or emotions over the project's or team's growth. When we work on a team, we’re aiming for a destination and feedback is course identifying and correcting to get us there. If feedback is your tool to get big feelings off your chest, that’ll take precedence and is likely to knock y’all even further off the path. Give yourself emotional release outside of feedback spaces – yell some of those judgmental things you’re thinking at a body pillow and then you can use feedback for its intended purpose of pathfinding.

Sometimes, feedback alone isn't enough. When a team member repeatedly strays from our shared path, we need to engage in a broader conversation, considering the larger picture and their overall well-being. If the same piece of feedback has been given ten times without any change in behavior, it’s time to think about other tools and support for this team mate, not more feedback.

Being aware of these bad habits helped us avoid common pitfalls. By tracking, releasing, and assessing other tools, we learned to balance our feedback, focus on the truth, and open to alternatives. This process helped us build faith in each other and our power to accomplish the work we desperately want done.

Next week, we'll delve deeper into the "How" of feedback, sharing specific strategies we use at Sunlit Strategies. Until then, wishing you and yours happy and frequent communication.