PART 2 | How Can Self-Feedback Boost Higher Performance?
What is Self-Feedback?
When we hear the term 'feedback,' our minds often jump to giving or receiving it from others. However, there's another essential form of feedback that we frequently overlook - Self-Feedback: This is the act of providing feedback to oneself.
Research shows that more self-aware teams have almost a two times higher probability of success across decision-making, coordination and conflict management. Self-feedback is a personal endeavor; it relies solely on introspection and self-assessment. It's not intended to replace the valuable feedback we seek and receive from others but to complement and enhance it.
Why is it Essential?
The primary goal of engaging in self-feedback is to cultivate a growth mindset. With this mindset, challenges and setbacks are viewed as learning opportunities rather than failures. By dedicating time to self-reflection and assessment, you can customize your actions and strategies for improvement. This commitment paves the way for continuous personal and professional development.
Generally, as individuals we tend to do one of two things:
Undermine our strengths (or what we call ‘Superpowers’ at OnLoop): Positive feedback is usually easier to give others but incredibly awkward when recognizing for yourself.
Get overly critical of development areas (or what we call ‘Improves’ at OnLoop): Finding areas to improve feels like a reflection for yourself, but just uncomfortable when expressed to others in your team.
But neither of these end up helping us or our teams. In the following sections, we will delve deeper into the importance of leveraging your strengths through self-feedback and introduce a model we, at OnLoop, recommend to help guide you through this introspective process.
The Knowledge-Awareness Model
The Knowledge Awareness Model is a concept that aims to explain how humans become aware of their own knowledge and understanding. Let's break it down in a simple way and use self-feedback to work through each stage
[Remember: Improvements are important but don’t forget to recognize your Strengths]
Consider this: You're a project manager who has always relied on email and phone calls to communicate with your team.
1. Unknown-Unknowns (Things that you don’t know, you don’t know): You're not familiar with this topic yet.
In this case - You've never heard of project management software that can streamline communication and task tracking.
Self-Feedback for Improvement
"I've always managed projects using email and phone calls, but I've recently learned about project management software. I didn’t even know this tool existed, and I should explore it to improve communication and task tracking in my projects."
Self-Feedback for Strengths
"I recognize there might be more efficient ways to manage projects, and I’m open to exploring new tools to enhance my project management skills."
2. Known-Unknowns (Things that you know, you don’t know): You become aware of your lack of knowledge or skill in a specific area. You know there's something you don’t know, and this can motivate you to learn.
In this case - After realizing the potential benefits of using project management software, you decide to attend a webinar to learn more about its features and functionalities.
Self-Feedback for Improvement
"I attended the webinar on project management software, and I now realize how much I didn’t know about its capabilities. I need to practice using it and perhaps take an advanced training course to fully utilize its features."
Self-Feedback for Strengths
"I took the initiative to identify a knowledge gap in my project management skills and sought out a webinar to address it."
3. Unknown-Knowns (Things you don’t know, you know): You've acquired the knowledge or skill and are aware of it. You can use it, but you might still need to concentrate or think about it to apply it correctly.
In this case - After practicing using the project management software and implementing it in your projects, you can effectively track tasks and communicate with your team using the software, but you still need to focus and concentrate when using it.
Self-Feedback for Improvement
"I can now use the software to track tasks and communicate with my team, but I need to continue practicing and exploring its advanced features to become more efficient in my project management."
Self-Feedback for Strengths
"I’ve acquired the skill to use the project management software and can effectively manage projects with it. I’m making progress in enhancing my project management skills."
4. Known-Knowns (Things that you know, that you know): After practicing and using the knowledge or skill repeatedly, it becomes second nature. You don't have to consciously think about it; you just know how to do it.
In this case - After using the project management software regularly for several months, you can efficiently manage and track tasks almost automatically.
Self-Feedback for Improvement
"I’ve become quite proficient with the project management software, but I should periodically update my knowledge and skills by attending advanced training or workshops to ensure I’m using it to its fullest potential."
Self-Feedback for Strengths
"I can efficiently manage and track tasks using the project management software almost effortlessly now. My dedication to learning and practicing has turned this skill into second nature."
Tips for Using the Knowledge Awareness Model for Self-Feedback in the Workplace
Regular Self-Assessment: Periodically assess your skills and knowledge in various areas of your job using the model to identify areas for improvement and acknowledge strengths. [At OnLoop, we suggest actions to add ‘Improves’ for yourself to get better at, or ‘Record a do-over moment’ to reflect on a specific moment.]
Set Learning Goals: Based on your self-assessment, set specific learning goals to address your areas of improvement and enhance your strengths.
Celebrate Achievements: Recognize and celebrate your progress and achievements as you move from one stage to another in the Knowledge Awareness Model. [At OnLoop, we use AI enhancer to record your celebration observations and help turn that into specific feedback you can leverage in future projects.]
Stay Curious and Open to Learning: Maintain a growth mindset, be curious, and be open to learning new skills and knowledge to continually develop and grow in your role.
To learn more about constructive communication through feedback, read more on our blog here.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your team with OnLoop? Book a meeting with us today and discover how our AI-powered platform can revolutionize your feedback process while fostering a culture of continuous growth!
