Feedback guidelines

General
guidelines
General guidelines

Titles do not make feedback more or less important

Teams should consider all feedback without weighing it against the seniority or title of the person who gave
the feedback. Titles do not equal having all the answers. Teams should respond to ALL feedback, and share
back why it was or was not actioned in their work.

Share your feedback in the meeting ( not afterwards )

It is critical that everyone can hear and discuss all feedback so we all have to give that feedback in the
meeting where we all can hear it. Late feedback should be addressed in subsequent meetings.

Trust matters
Giving feedback is an opportunity to either build or erode trust. If you deliver the feedback with thought
and care, the level of trust between all of us will grow. If we do not take these guidelines to heart, our
culture suffers, and so does our work.
General guidelines
It’s about getting it right, not being right.
You can focus on needing to be right, or you can focus on how we together find the right answers. Bring
positive intent to the discussion, and assume it of others. Rarely do you get to be right AND get things done.

There’s a million ways to say the same thing, they do

not all get the same result.
Think before you speak. Everyone is working hard and wants to have a positive impact, so consider how to
frame your feedback in a way that appreciates the work, is direct, and can be heard.

Everyone is inherently reasonable. If they appear

unreasonable, chances are they know something you don’t.
If someone appears unreasonable, take a moment to ask them what they know that you don’t. And ask
yourself what you might know that they don’t. Chances are there is a disconnect, and instead of getting
frustrated, take a moment to be curious and try to find it.
Giving useful
feedback
How to give useful feedback

1. Identify
Identify the issue you think needs to be solved or improved.

2. Understand
Ask questions to understand the team’s thinking, decisions and researching findings instead of making
statements.

3. Propose
Be specific about the problems you want to solve, knowing you’ll foster more learning by asking well framed
questions that stimulate thinking, and coach people into exploration and experimentation.
Giving useful feedback

Share unmet needs, insights, and opportunities,

not solutions
Our teams need to be empowered to work through their challenges, while also harnessing the insights and
expertise of our collective. The best way to help the team is to help them see the unmet needs, insights, context
or opportunities that are not being addressed in the current work.

Be clear, specific, and honest

Feedback that isn’t clear or direct is less likely to be helpful, and can potentially set a project off in a bad
direction. Feedback needs to be clear and concise, which increases its helpfulness by making it more actionable.

Put members first

It is critical to keep our members at the forefront of our mind as it can be easy to fall into the trap of nit-picking
based on your own personal likes and dislikes. Just say no to “Me-search.”
Giving useful feedback
Be respectful and patient
In order to receive critical feedback on our work, we must open ourselves up to opinions that we might not
necessarily agree with... so as you are giving feedback, be patient and respectful, and remember how hard that is
to do.

Direct your feedback to the product, not the person

When sharing feedback, it’s important that you remove the author from the picture and focus on the design/
concept/strategy itself instead. This should be reflected in the language you use, along with your overall
feedback approach.

Don’t forget about positive feedback

People are often quick to notice what’s wrong, but it’s equally important to pay attention to and provide input on
what is working to support development.
Receiving
feedback
Receiving feedback

Stay open-minded and don’t take it personally

All feedback, even feedback that we don’t agree with, is an opportunity to see our work from a different
perspective. We all have blind spots, and it’s together that we can see them. It’s a dialogue centered on how to
improve the work, not a mandate on what must change.

Clarify and find the root of the feedback

The better your team understands the feedback they’re given, the more they’ll benefit from it. Get to the core of
an issue and ask questions to get clarity, which will help you more accurately iterate on the feedback. If you don’t
understand, ask! Try repeating back what you think you heard (not just jumping to what you think is the answer).

Actually listen, not just hear

There’s a difference between simply hearing feedback, and actually listening to it. Listening when others are
providing feedback can help us identify areas in which our work can improve faster.