Should You Stop Asking for Feedback From Your Team?

If you’re unwilling to accept the answer…

Or do anything with what the answer is.

Please stop asking these questions

“Do you have any feedback for me”?

Or

Is there anything I/we can do differently?

All too often I hear this question being asked by leaders.

And the reality is.

They don’t really want to hear the answer.

Or change anything they are or aren’t doing.

They ask the questions because it’s the “right thing to do.”

That “right thing” has consequences that are often unforeseen.

And often end up leading to:

‣ 𝙀𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩: You will lose trust if your team believes their feedback is not valued or taken seriously.
‣ 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨: Your team may become reluctant to share honest feedback in the future, anticipating that it won't make a difference.
‣ 𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮: A leader's credibility is based in part on their responsiveness to their team's needs and concerns.
‣ 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: Employees may feel disengaged and disconnected when they perceive their opinions and insights are not valued.

And slowly but surely, what once was an employee and team who believed in you.

No longer exists.

If you’re asking the question.

You
must be willing to do something with the feedback you’ve received.

And if you can’t act upon it.

It's essential for you to communicate why certain feedback was not implemented.

Or face the consequences.

What will you choose?