Structured Feedback at Motel
Properly structured feedback is important to grow as a team and as an individual. At Motel, we have a few guidelines in place to help feedback be fruitful and productive. We come from a variety of backgrounds: art school, math school, no school. Here are a couple guidelines we try and follow at Motel, and some examples of good feedback.
Feedback is humble.
The person standing in front of the room — so to speak — is putting a lot on the line. Give them time, and respect the work they’ve done thus far. While your opinion is valuable, they are probably the domain expert in this field (they’ve spent a lot of time with their own work).
Feedback is an observation, not a change request.
You work with great people, and you’re talented. Sometimes, it’s easy to get carried away, and expect a piece of feedback to be immediately implemented as a change. This is at the discretion of the presenter of the work, and the stakeholders of the project. There is probably more than meets the eye, and it helps to not get too attached to your own comments. If you feel strongly, take the time to pull this person aside and discuss in private, this is always better than shouting in front of the group.
Feedback does not always require a response.
Being on the spot can be daunting, especially if you’re presenting work that isn’t 100% done. Often, waves of sporadic information and weeks of thought go into making a decision. The reason behind a decision can be hard to find at a moments notice, so when offering an opinion, don’t always expect an answer or elaboration from the presenter. This takes the pressure off and keeps the session moving forward positively.
Feedback is direct, not abstract.
When owning a piece of work, it’s easy to zoom in so far, you forget to come up for air. Feedback from your team is crucial in seeing what you may have missed. At the same time, it’s easy to get derailed with an off-the-wall comment, not taking into consideration the scope and state of the project. Feedback should be direct and — as much as possible — take into account the environment of the project.
Feedback is great when it offers a potential solution.
This touches on a few points already discussed: feedback being an observation (not request), and feedback being direct. A great way to be direct is to offer a solution. A hex color suggestion #333333, a couple lines in CSS to tweak line-height: 1.432, or relaying a constraint “the Client requested that we only use the monochrome logo”. Solutions can be extremely helpful and move the project forward, but remember, the presenter is the domain-expert in this field, so don’t always expect the solution to become permanent.
Feedback can be questions
While again, remembering feedback does not require a response, a great way to get insight on a decision is to ask questions. Phrasing questions like: Why did you decide to ______ here? Is a great way to start. When fielding these questions, always feel free to answer with “I don’t know” or “I know there was a reason, can’t remember right now, I’ll look into it”.
Whether you’re the giver or presenter, a challenge exists in handling feedback gracefully and applying it constructively; combining insights from every direction could be the hardest work you ever do. It can feel like an emotional marathon, but trust the insight is worth it. Run the race, you won’t regret it.
