Inspiring Change: Solutions-Focused Feedback for a Virtual World

I can’t wait for my performance review, said nobody, ever. As many approach year-end feedback season, it should be a time for celebrating and acknowledging wins throughout the year, and reflecting on past situations, extracting unintended learnings that will allow further development and growth of skills. Our brains are wired to hear and see the negative, and many systems like performance reviews or 360 feedback instruments when implemented unintentionally create barriers to seeing the positive, having the effect of shutting us down, versus engaging and inspiring focus on what we can do to affect positive change and continue to grow. Authentic, constructive feedback seems more elusive in a completely virtual pandemic environment that has become our new reality.

Throughout this year I’ve been using a ‘game-changer’ narrative 360, grounded in positive psychology, that helps break down these barriers and enables the feedback recipient to get context-specific, solution-focused feedback in a way that engages action, supported by a social system intentionally engaged for individual and organizational success. In our virtual reality where it’s difficult to see how to shift and what actions will fuel success, I’m seeing first hand just how transformative applied neuroleadership and positive psychology can be for individuals and their teams.

Feedback shared from some clients:

“The narrative feedback was truly a pivotal moment to understand what others might see or hear that was not visible to me ordinarily and allowed me to apply new behaviors to immediately shift what had been creating perceptions.  It was easily addressed and become a strength, once I was clear about what others suggested I should do differently, and when I should do it, and applied the solutions.”  

“Missing out on the in-person office interactions left me also missing out on in the moment feedback and opportunity to make a change.  This approach brought my colleagues closer, in a virtual work from home environment and allowed me to develop powerful new leadership skills from behind a zoom screen.”

The Shift Positive methodology allows the feedback recipient to:

– Trust the intention of the person sharing it with you, truly for your benefit
– Understand context to the feedback, not a rating on a page
– Gain a clear, tangible, and pragmatic picture on what you “can do” to grow, versus focusing on what “not to do”.
– Build a social system of allies that reinforces your growth

The beauty of this approach, positive solutions-focused feedback, coupled with a team of allies who are fully engaged and accountable to commitments to help the feedback recipient positively succeed for the benefit of all and shifts our mind in a “reward and growth state.”  It allows our brains’ limbic system to tamp down the anxiety that leads to fight or flight, allows the “executive function” to have the space and resource to hear, see, and process solutions in a context-rich paradigm to apply immediately and have a social system surrounding the feedback recipient that support, see and recognize the positive change.

Virtual reality being our new reality, why not supercharge success, and build leadership skills that will transcend pandemic and work-from-home to elevate your leadership and your teams success.

Explore how you can use feedback to inspire positive shifts for yourself and your teams click here.