This document discusses feedback in the 21st century workplace. It notes that while feedback aims to advance learning, giving and receiving honest feedback can be difficult. Research has focused on characteristics of the feedback giver and receiver that influence acceptance of feedback. However, more context-specific research is needed. The document advocates moving from sporadic feedback for evaluations, to frequent feedback to drive learning. It suggests feedback can catalyze skills like team learning, growth mindset, decision-making and creativity. Examples from an organization called Next Jumpers show how frequent feedback helps take interpersonal risks and strengthens abilities like judgment and innovation. The document questions assumptions behind the "feedback sandwich" approach and argues for more direct feedback delivery.

1. April 25, 2018
Reimagining Feedback for the 21st
CenturyWorkplace
Stuti Shukla (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
!1

2. Paradox of Feedback
Feedback advances individual and organizational learning in the
workplace
✤ corrects errors
✤ advances task performance
✤ fosters employee voice
But… giving and getting honest feedback hard in most workplaces
Feedback often feels very high stake as it is tightly coupled with
performance evaluation and compensation decisions
!2Stuti Shukla

3. On the research side
✤ What has been studied:
Psychological characteristics of feedback-receiver that can
predict better acceptance of feedback (e.g. self-esteem, learning
vs. performance mindset)
Features of giver-receiver relationship (e.g. trust, usefulness of
feedback message, perception of feedback giver’s expertise)
✤ Current research on workplace feedback is mostly based on
experiments and surveys and is not contextually anchored
!3Stuti Shukla

4. Sporadic
feedback for perf.
evaluation &
compensation
Frequent
feedback to drive
personal learning
& perf. for
everyone
!4
Feedback as
the lever that
catalyzes crucial
21st century
skills
TEAM LEARNING
GROWTH
MINDSET
DECISION-MAKING
CREATIVITY
In learning to give and get candid feedback,
Next Jumpers are also honing other
critical capabilities such as judgment, creativity,
growth mindset and learning in a team
Stuti Shukla

5. !5
TEAM
LEARNING
✤ “Feedback can positively influence
individuals' creative performance.. leading to
generating more ideas and better creative
performance“
✤ “Team learning is a process in which members
are engaged in asking questions, seeking
feedback, experimenting, reflecting on results,
and discussing errors”
✤ “Those with learning orientation will tend to
view feedback as diagnostic information
about how to improve performance .. and will
remain persistent, have greater resilience in
face of critical feedback“
✤ “Educating gossip..learning to critique others
can help build awareness of own blindspots“
GROWTH
MINDSET
INTUITION
CREATIVITY &
INNOVATION
Stuti Shukla

6. Feedback culture (rituals, practices, interactions) at NxJ
helps people take interpersonal risks:
✤ Give honest feedback and share an independent thought
overcoming anxieties of looking bad, damaging a relationship,
or getting fired
✤ Seek feedback proactively and openly, overcoming anxiety of
being perceived as incompetent
✤ Receive feedback with a belief that it is essential for growth,
and with less of the usual defensiveness; develop more
productive routines to manage anxiety that comes with it
!6Stuti Shukla

7. “Consider things that are fragile. What’s fragile? Fragile is a
crystal glass. When we put stress on it, when we exert force
on it, it gets weaker or even breaks. So what’s the opposite of
fragile? We immediately think of words like resilient, strong,
robust, maybe even flexible, so that it bends and it gets back
to the original condition. But is that really the opposite?
Something that stays the same?
The opposite of fragile is something that gets stronger when I
exert force or stress on it. That’s what I call agility: when you
thrive on change and get stronger”
!7
Wouter Aghina, Partner, McKinsey & Co.
Stuti Shukla

8. 03
01
02
REFLECT and DISCUSS
in large group
INTENTIONS
Discuss a knotty claim
from feedback
RESEARCH
Share INSIGHTS from
Next Jump
!8Stuti Shukla

9. DOES FEEDBACK
SANDWICH REALLY NOT
WORK?
9Stuti Shukla

10. !10Stuti Shukla

11. Feedback sandwich rests on two
misguided assumptions
Easier to hear and accept
the negative feedback
More “balanced” feedback
People want more directness
than we give them credit for
Saving positive feedback to
offset negative feedback
diminishes value of positive
feedback
!11Stuti Shukla

12. ✤ “Strong tendency to search for, interpret, favor and
recall information in a way that confirms one’s
preexisting beliefs/hypotheses.”
✤ The message is obscure, and those getting
feedback are left unclear about what you are really
telling them
CONFIRMATION BIAS
!12Stuti Shukla

13. Imagine telling Alex something like:
“I have some critical feedback to give you. I will start
with some positives to relax you, then give you the
negative feedback which is the real purpose of our
meeting. And I will end with more positive feedback so
that you are not disappointed, unmotivated or angry at
me when this conversation ends. How does that work
for you?”
UNILATERALLY CONTROLLING STRATEGY: desire to
influence others without telling them what you are doing
*Robert Schwarz, Chris Argyris & Donald Schon !13Stuti Shukla

14. How does Next Jump guard against
this instinct?
!14Stuti Shukla

15. !15
“Really like how you took the time to
go in the swamp and truly
understand the problem before
diving into action. Would have liked
to hear what the top narratives were
that held you/team back last year, as
would have been easier to give you
feedback on the rituals in place now.”
02
“Can see you guys have done a lot, and
cool to see that the results seem positive.
Would have liked to hear more insights
on why this is… Also, what are your goals
for the quarter? How are you going to
know if you are trending in the right
direction? Think having goals that your
team can align under will help them give
direction”
01
Examples from feedback-app
Stuti Shukla

16. !16
NO ‘LHF’
CULTURE
DON’T SHOW
EMOTIONS
ACT RATIONAL
ALWAYS BE
RIGHT
INSTEAD
LEVERAGE
INTUITION
‘EXPOSE’
FEEDBACK
DEDICATED
AVENUES
FOR
RECOGNITION
MULTIPLE
CHANNELS OF
FEEDBACK
Stuti Shukla

17. PROMPTS:
✤ In your feedback-giving, in what ways do you rely on
the ‘feedback sandwich’? Be specific.
✤ If you imagine doing the opposite, what is the inner
talk? For e.g.
IF I start with the criticism … THEN …
IF I didn’t end with a positive … THEN..
!17Stuti Shukla

18. ✤ Take 3 minutes to reflect on your own
✤ Pair up and share reflections
✤ Exchange learnings in larger group
!18Stuti Shukla

19. Stuti Shukla
stuti_shukla@gse.harvard.edu
!19