Understanding your performance: Actionable feedback: Question 2
Questions to elicit feedback for your teams
Although we may struggle to hear feedback, getting feedback from our teammates can be one of the greatest gifts. But what kind of questions should you be asking?
Google has done the research.
They share 13 questions to collect feedback on managers who target behaviours to amplify. I’ll share short posts with additional questions and stories from my experience coaching, facilitating, and supporting teams to help you think and activate conversations with your team.
This is post 2 out of 13.
:)
Google Manager Feedback Survey
Question 2: My manager does not "micromanage" (i.e., get involved in details that should be handled at other levels).
How this turns up in the real world (some observations)…
Unfortunately, having a manager who micromanages the details is a part of daily life for many folks.
Whether it’s your boss who excessively monitors your work or the seagull leader … someone who comes in, poops on your work, then leaves, micromanagers have a significant impact on performance.
Here are some of the things I’ve noticed and heard in my consulting and coaching practice about the impacts of micromanagers:
Fewer growth opportunities
Micromanagement means that tasks may not be assigned to the right people. This can prevent them from developing their skills and taking on new challenges, limiting their professional growth.
Impact:
You may start building your exit plan if you feel stuck in a rut. Before you activate the plan, be clear about what kind of learning or experiences you’d like to experience to develop your skills and build on your performance.
Anxiety and poor motivation
Constantly checking in, asking for frequent updates, and scrutinizing every detail can make people feel untrusted, leading to less motivation and satisfaction at work. It can also create general stress and uncertainty, leading to burnout.
Impact:
If you’re dreading interacting with your manager or senior leader, you may want to set a time to have a difficult conversation about trust and psychological safety. Asking for what you need to be successful and clarifying what’s not working will offer some visibility and feedback into what’s happening from your perspective.
Less Productivity and Innovation
Constant oversight can disrupt workflow and discourage team members from taking the initiative or thinking creatively. If your manager insists on doing things a specific way, they may miss improvement opportunities.
Impact:
If you don’t feel you have the autonomy to deliver work based on your needs, ask how you can improve the current workflow or process. Suggest that you benchmark performance or productivity first (the current way), then define a pilot for improvement and measure against the benchmark (the new way). Ensure the pilot is well-defined and time-bound because you’ll report on the outcome.
Applying this to your situation
Every environment and manager is different. Daniel Pink’s research about motivation in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth about Motivation points to three essential elements:
(1) Autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives;
(2) Mastery—the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and
(3) Purpose—the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
What about you?
If you’re a manager, do you:
Coach and support your team in linking their personal goals to the broader goals and values of the organization. (Purpose)
Offer training and support to offer a path of personal development for each team member. (Mastery)
Share outcomes (what and the why) to allow your team members autonomy in the work delivery (how and the who) (Autonomy)
Do you ask for feedback from your team about these motivating factors?
If you’re not a manager, what steps can you take to ask for what you need to stay motivated?
Apply this thinking to ensure you don’t become a micromanager or accept poor behaviour from your manager.
Follow-up thinking/ questions:
How can you set appropriate boundaries so your team has autonomy to make decisions for work delivery?
Where are there roadblocks or friction?
What can you do to alleviate or reduce these points?
What systems and structures do you have in place for communicating relevant and targeted expectations and needs to everyone involved?
What about you?
What has been your experience in supporting actionable feedback?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.