Feedback

The feeling of contentment has to take a back seat. What contentment? And why Backseat?  The story is as follows - Himanshu wrote a blog about me yesterday. The blog was well written and had a flow to it which was very pleasing. More importantly it did not drag me through the coals and was very nice . But ever since I read it I have been going to the mirror and staring at myself. Am I really what has been written? In any case I take this opportunity to thank Himanshu for a wonderfully expressive and articulate blog. 

Today Prasad did not come for the class. He was busy getting his affairs in order. The dust about Suicide Prevention has yet to settle down. I think it will continue till 10 Sep 2015. That happens to be the world Suicide Prevention day(SPD). As part of Spd there is going to be a run for awareness organised probably on next sunday . GJ Rao will have all the details . For all those who are interested it  will be worthwhile to contact GJ Rao directly.

After a gap of about three weeks Prof Bilolikar  made his appearance in the class again today. Today's class was about sampling and how to go about the conducting it. An interesting class which I am sure will be of use in the future .One important part of sampling is the feedback. Unless you have a feedback it is of no use  - no matter how big or small the sample size. 

The goal of feedback is to improve performance by increasing people’s self-awareness and understanding about how their actions affect others and how others perceive them. So feedback can provide a much-needed reality check. But if the feedback you give seems to have little impact on behavior, maybe it’s because it’s not being given in the most effective way.You may not be giving enough negative feedback – A focus on strengths alone won’t illuminate gaps between how employees think of their performance versus actual measures of that performance. You don’t give people enough of a narrative – People need concrete examples of how their behavior is affecting others. As we have also long said, be specific You are not speaking in a way that can be heard – Use your personal knowledge of the employee to craft a message that can be taken in. In other words, know your audience. Finally, feedback is  just the beginning of the actual coaching, which requires follow through… We want to hear: How do you offer feedback and how do you like to receive it? Do you feel the feedback you have received has altered your behavior? You require feedback from your peers your friends your enemies your children and most importantly from your spouse. Imagine that after you come home from a hard day's work your spouse is sulking and you do not know the reason for this - it is going to drive yo up the wall. In military parlance you need actionable intelligence to further your operations - it is the same in your day to day life also - if I may go astep further you require feedback as to your performance also! Maybe it will help you improve beyond measure...