providing focused feedback to peers and leadership

Leading the world in essentials for a better life.

Focus Feedback Workshop Abstract

• In this workshop, Basma and Sara will recommend effective ways to give and receive feedback. Constructive feedback techniques for personal development as well as recognition/praise techniques will be demonstrated. Attendees will have the opportunity to break out into pairs or groups to practice these new skills via role playing.

• The objective of this workshop is to equip attendees with tools and confidence to speak up and give their opinion to peers and leadership in a productive manner.

• We would like a room conducive to breaking out into small groups of 5 or pairs. We only plan to use PowerPoint for the first 20 minutes, then we'll have everyone practice the described focus feedback techniques and discuss as a large group what they learned during the role playing.

• Kimberly-Clark has implemented a new focused recognition program and also encourages employees to be upfront with each other (in both negative and positive scenarios). Sara and Basma are young female engineers who have only been at Kimberly-Clark for 2 years and have had and continue to have experiences with focus feedback everyday. They feel that sharing their experiences and the technique Kimberly-Clark is encouraging its employees to use is valuable to any engineer


Leading the world in essentials for a better life.Leading the world in essentials for a better life.

FocusedFeedback

Basma Osman & Sara StephanSWE National Conference 2012November 8, 2012


Basma Osman and Sara Stephan

Graduated from Georgia Institute of TechnologyCo-oped at Kimberly-Clark (K-C)

Started working full-time at K-C in summer 2012Active members of K-C’s New Employee Opportunity Network

Recruiters for K-C at Georgia TechActive in Atlanta’s section of Society of Women Engineers


Who here has had issues with someone?

Outcome/Results?

Tools to achieve desired outcome because everyone is accountable for the end result

Why learn how to give feedback?


What’s accountability?

Dictionary definition: Subject to having to report, explain or justify; responsible; answerable

Why be accountable?

Only when you assume full accountability for your thoughts, feelings, actions, and results can you direct your own destiny; otherwise, someone or something else will. – The Oz principle


Encouraging a Culture of Accountability

• Focused Feedback Civil, honest, direct, specific, continuous, both affirmative & constructive

• Recognition Work ethics, company values, courage, innovation, accomplishments,

both small & large• Story telling

Sharing successes & failures, learning opportunities, celebration

Everyone should be involved in the feedback process: Subordinates, Peers, and Leadership


Constructive Focused Feedback

• The sooner the better….however, thinking about how to best deliver such feedback can help you make it more effective

• Better to do one on one• Start by asking for feedback for yourself• Listen, listen, listen!!!!• Give feedback• Determine best way to communicate with each individual• Check & adjust, recognize improvements• Keep emotions out of discussion and to a minimum• Good and bad example of constructive feedback• Plus delta sessions are a great way to request Focused feedback


Positive Focused Feedback• The sooner the better• One on One, groups, or with leadership• Determine best way to communicate with each

individual• Recognize improvements• Good and bad example of positive feedback• Recognize the good and not just the bad• How?

• In person• E-mail to manager and CC them• Recogintion cards


K-C’s Tool for Positive Feedback and Recognition


Scenario ADan (Walks past Elise huffing and sets up to start work)Elise (Approaches Dan in front of group) Dan: I need to be left alone right now.Elise: What are you upset about?Dan: I’m very stressed right now and can’t handle this discussion.Elise: We’re engineers, we need to confront situations and complete our work.Dan: I understand that, but the team had agreed that we were going to give the trial one last shot and start wrapping things up, but ….Elise: Sometimes you have to work late to get things done.Dan: (Raises voice) I know that, but you can’t expect us to work here 12-15 hours everyday for months and expect everyone to be ok with it. We didn’t accomplish anything in those extra hours yesterday. And I’m stressed from all the other personal stuff going on and I don’t have time to handle it.Elise: Calm down. What’s really bugging you…Dan: I told you, you need to leave me alone and I’m very upset.Elise: We just have to get through this.Dan walks out on team.


Scenario B

Michael was frustrated because Jonathan hasn’t submitted an important document with a specified deadline. Moreover, Michael received no responses from Jonathan asking about the document for 3 days straight. Out of frustration, Michael sent a note to Jonathan and copied both his and Jonathan’s boss expressing his disappointment and frustration at Jonathan’s inadequacy and not responding to his multiple emails and taking ownership of his delay to the project. Shortly after Michael sent the email, he received a one-line and has been there for over a week”.


Your turn to try out your new tools and skills!

• Prepare for a one on one discussion to provide constructive feedback to someone you are currently working with on anything (school project, work, extracurriculars , etc), so that you can approach them with this and have an impactful discussion that will change his/her actions, or yours, in the future.

• Prepare a recognition card for someone that has shown outstanding leadership, initiative, or creativity in a situation at school, work, or an extracurricular organization that you can give to them and share with the team.


Questions?

providing focused feedback to peers and leadership

Engineering