1. Peer Feedback
the lynch pin of a healthy team
Chris Dagenais

2. Introduction
Chris Dagenais
Point2 / Yardi Systems Inc.
Director – Point2 Development
12 years in the industry
Twitter: @mdchris
Email: mdchris@gmail.com

3. Foundation
• Just like any other relationship, a healthy team
is built on a foundation of good
communication
• Poor communication is an infection that will
slowly rot away the dynamic of your team
• Good communication will strengthen the
foundation allowing you build from there

4. Team Dynamics
• Have you worked on a team before?
• Ever wanted somebody to change their
behaviour but didn’t feel like you could?
• Ever been told to change something about
how you act in a way you didn’t appreciate?

5. Perception
• Managing how you are perceived is a full time
job at your full time job…
• Perception rarely matches intention,
especially if you aren’t mindful of it

6. Perception

7. Common Perceptions Mismatches
• If you interrupt people often
– Intention: you want to make sure you’re idea get
listened to and you feel you have interrupt people or
you never get a chance to talk
– People perceive that you don’t care about or value
what they have to say
• If you regularly show up late for meetings
– Intention: People regularly stop you as you walk by
and you want to always be helpful so you always stop
for a couple minutes to help them
– People perceive that you don’t respect them or their
time

8. Common Perception Mismatches
• When you argue about everything that wasn’t
your idea and won’t compromise
– Intention: You have a lot of ideas and very
passionately believe that they are the best option
– People perceive that you think you know everything
and care far more about yourself than the team
• When you make jokes about and belittle the skills
of others on the team
– Intention: you’re trying to be funny
– People perceive that you are arrogant, insensitive, and
uninterested in helping other team members grow.

9. Managing Perceptions
• Feedback is a great way to manage
perceptions
• Giving feedback to share your perceptions
with someone
• Requesting feedback to check that someone’s
perceptions match your intentions

10. Supervisor Feedback
• Important to know how your boss thinks
you’re doing
• You might respect the feedback, or might just
feel obligated to act on it
• Often considered a burden rather than a
privilege

11. Peer Feedback
• Peers have no “obligation” to give you
feedback
• Lack of obligation makes it more sincere and
powerful

12. Giving Feedback
• “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain…and most
fools do” – Dale Carnegie
• Feedback should address behavior, not the
person
• It should be specific
• It should be timely
• Own your feedback, don’t wish-wash
• Understand that it is only feedback, the other
person is not obligated to do anything other than
listen.

13. Receiving Feedback
• Listen to the feedback. No…really.
• Remain open minded
• Don’t interrupt the person, it’s likely already
hard for them
• Ensure that you understand what they are
telling you, it’s ok to ask clarifying questions to
make sure
• Remind yourself the feedback is addressing a
behaviour

14. Conflict
• The reason people avoid giving feedback
• Lack of skill delivering or receiving feedback
can cause conflict, leading to less feedback in
the future

15. Bad feedback examples
• You talk too much in meetings
• People don’t seem to like you
• Your PRDC session was ok but could use some
work
• People complain about your attendance

16. Good feedback examples
• I thought your SDEC session would have been
better if you made smoother transitions between
sub-topics. It seemed to jump around which
made it harder for me to follow.
• In that meeting we just had there were several
instances where I tried to voice my opinion but
couldn’t because you raised your voice a bit every
time I tried to talk. When that happens it makes
me feel like you don’t care about what I have to
say.

17. Lets get this train moving!
• Ask your peers for feedback!
• You’re much more likely to get feedback if
people know you want it

18. Action Plan
• Describe to your team the benefits of good
feedback
• Propose your plan for regularly scheduled
feedback sessions going forward

19. Action Plan – Step 1
• Moderated weekly sessions
– Moderated by a trusted 3rd party
– Scheduled, not optional
– 2 pieces of positive and 2 of constructive feedback
must be delivered
– No response is allowed, only clarifying questions

20. Action Plan – Step 2
• Feedback sessions are still moderated
• Sessions are scheduled based on peers
specifying a specific person to give feedback
to
• Still recommend no responses

21. Action Plan – Step 3
• Team members will start randomly asking for a
feedback session with a specific individual

22. Action Plan – Step 4
• Team members voluntarily give each other
valuable feedback without needing a
moderator to feel comfortable

23. Why Feedback?
• What if we help our peers improve and they
leave?
• What if we don’t and they stay!

24. Why Feedback
• Promotes open communication
• Open communication is the foundation of
trust
• Improve respect level among teams
• Help people understand how their actions are
perceived

25. Wrapping Up
• Good communication is the foundation of
your team
• Being mindful of how you are perceived is
critical
• Nothing helps your team stay healthy like
regular honest constructive feedback!