Feedback

Asking for an offering feedback is an important and necessary, yet surprisingly delicate, task in working collaboratively. This is particularly clear when power dynamics are at play, but it’s a concern when individuals are on a seemingly level playing field. In this section I’ll present tools for asking for and receiving feedback, including with dealing with the difficult task of receiving critiques on poorly-executed tasks.

Here, I use the term feedback to allude to a wider set of responses, including what we may call feedback, reviews, critiques, criticism, assessment, or evaluation. In some cases these may take the form of clearly-outlined processes consistent with institute guidelines, such as a regular performance reviews that determine an employee’s career path. I’m less concerned with these institutionalized forms of feedback and more interested with the casual, everyday feedback we receive from our colleagues.