“Feedback does not happen in a vacuum.”
So expounded Industrial and Organizational Psychologist Lisa Steelman, Ph.D., about the effects of work environment on feedback absorption. According to Steelman, constructive critique is a dish best served in a nurturing space, one in which honest communication is seen as the path to growth.
“We need to set the stage by creating a growth-oriented environment,” Steelman said in her presentation for the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Steelman’s research revealed that a welcoming environment yielded significantly better performance improvement over time than those in a resistant environment, she noted.
For All Web Leads Senior Customer Success Manager Sarah Odgers, tilling the ground for honest feedback means showing the customer that she cares.
“In my experience, showing that I clearly understand the importance of the situation has set me apart from someone striving to appease the customer,” she said.
An authentic craving for all modes of feedback breeds meaningful interactions versus hollow exchanges, said Odgers. To open the door, Odgers makes an extra effort to articulate how she will enact the information she receives from customers.
“Taking that a step further to pinpoint what you’ll do differently next time is where you have the most opportunity to grow,” she said.
What’s more, the act gives Odgers ample opportunity to be a lifelong learner, elevating her expertise in the process.
“The people I admire the most personally and professionally would describe themselves as students of their craft well before saying they’re masters of it,” she said.
All Web Leads aims to help consumers connect with insurance agents to cover their insurance needs.
If a customer shares critical feedback about your product, what are the strategic steps you take to preserve the long-term health of the relationship?
Taking these things into account while troubleshooting the situation allows me to accurately convey to my team the positive impact we can have with our solution. A customer that is valued in this way can feel it, and it can make all the difference in a long-term business partnership.
I ensure the customer knows I’ve heard what they’ve said by confirming I have all the relevant information. I strive to know how they feel about the situation and what a suitable solution would look like moving forward.
Taking feedback into account while troubleshooting allows us to accurately convey the positive impact we can have with our solution.”
Critical feedback can be difficult to hear. How do you bounce back from receiving a piece of critical feedback?
In my experience, critical feedback has only ever come from people that are genuinely invested in me or what we’re working on together. Reminding myself that they wouldn’t bring me this feedback if they didn’t care allows me to focus on the content of their message — not how I feel in the moment. Instead of sulking over the disappointment, I strive to focus on what I can take away from the situation. Feedback is always better than indifference.
Feedback is always better than indifference.”
How does critical feedback allow you to learn and develop your craft as a CSM professional?
Receiving critical feedback has made me more self-aware. I often reflect on what my mentors would coach me through or what I’ve learned from others. Playing a scenario back in your mind and analyzing how it could improve is a given.
