Jessica Donahue

A stoplight approach can be a helpful way to think about and categorize your ideas for improvement. Consider what you will start, stop, and continue doing next time around. You can use this same format to communicate your planned improvements to the person who provided you with this feedback.

IDPs require you to pinpoint the skills or abilities you are looking to develop, either in your current role or in pursuit of a future role. Start by comparing your current skillsets against the skillsets required in the role you aspire to, and then determine what gaps exist. From there, figure out what specific learning experiences will help you close those gaps. Generally, most of these activities should be things you can incorporate into your regular work day such as observing others, shadowing, working on stretch assignments or special projects, etc.

It's important to acknowledge that not everyone has the same preferences when it comes to recognition. Some people love the spotlight of public recognition while others feel extremely uncomfortable with it. Rather than taking a guess and risking making someone uncomfortable, ask each of your people how they prefer to be recognized for a job well-done. After all, recognition should be all about them - not us!

So often, the most difficult part of giving feedback is knowing where to begin. The Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet feedback framework by Steve King was designed to address this exact pain-point. It uses 4 dialogue-starters that you can use to kickstart any type of feedback conversation. The dialogue-starters are: “When I brag about you, I brag about…” • “When I worry about you, I worry about…” • “When I wonder about you, I wonder about…” • “If I were going to bet on you, I’d bet that…”

Know that there is rarely ever one "right" decision in business. We simply aim to make the best decision we can with the information we have at any given time. The more knowledgeable you are going in, the more likely it is that you will make an informed decision.

When faced with a decision that's laden with ambiguity, slow down and seek to gather pertinent information first. Ask yourself, "what information would I like to have before making this decision?" or "if I had to justify this decision to the CEO, what information would I like to have used to inform that decision?" Then, go off and collect it!