In my last blog, I shared how surprised I was that the two teams I worked with both stated they wanted to feel more joyful at work. It got me thinking about how Leaders can use feedback to facilitate more joy through their feedback conversations.
When people hear the word 'feedback', many automatically associate it with something negative, for example, 'What have I done wrong?' People you lead may experience fear when it comes to receiving feedback. They may have experienced feelings of embarrassment, guilt, humiliation or shame in past feedback conversations. As a Leader, you might need to encourage them to feel the joy.
After talking about feedback with hundreds of people, I reckon that before we can allow ourselves to feel joyful about feedback, we often first experience the emotion of relief.
Check out Brene Brown’s definition of relief and joy:
‘Relief is the feeling of tension leaving the body and being able to breathe more easily. Thoughts of the worst being over and being safe for the moment, resting and wanting to get onto something else’.
‘Joy is an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure and appreciation’.
‘My CEO came for a visit and gave me great feedback during a break in our ELT meeting last week. It was such a relief as I wasn’t sure if she knew about the wins our team have been achieving recently. She did. She knew my name, and she talked about our team’s contribution to three major projects we have been working on. I felt amazing. I let our team know the next day and they were pretty chuffed. I’m still buzzing’.
*She didn’t use the specific word ‘joy’, but amazing, chuffed and buzzing are along the same lines!
When have you experienced relief and joy when receiving feedback at work?
Have you observed relief and joy in others when you have offered them feedback?
Is there anyone in your team who might benefit from your feedback so they can experience relief and joy?