Is Anonymous Feedback Good or Bad?
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A topic and question that comes up a lot in conversations with teams about feedback is specifically around anonymous feedback.
Is anonymous feedback good, or bad?
It’s neither, and can be both. Here’s my take on whether it helps or hurts.
Ideally inside an organization, a team, or in any relationship, the best case scenario is that feedback happens out in the open. The source of it is not a mystery, it's given directly to the audience it’s intended for, and it's received well.
“Ultimately the purpose of feedback is to uncover the truth so that you can bring to light any areas of opportunity to grow and improve, and to empower people’s voices and experiences.”
However, if you have a team or organization where feedback is not historically something that people have a healthy relationship with; that they’re not skillful at doing, and it’s seen as a negative or solely as a vehicle to deliver criticism, then doing it anonymously may be your best chance to gather feedback that is honest.
Ultimately the purpose of feedback is to uncover the truth so that you can bring to light any areas of opportunity to grow and improve, and to empower people’s voices and experiences.
Feedback is vital to individual and team success.
Feedback being honest is vitally important in order for it to be effective. If it needs to be done anonymously to get the truth then so be it.
However, without question the work to be done as an organization is to move towards an environment where feedback is productive, safe, welcome, sought after and seen as an opportunity to build better relationships and experiences.
“Feedback done well inside an organization or any relationship is the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to build trust, accelerate improvement, and reduce unnecessary static and conflict.”
Feedback done well inside an organization or any relationship is the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to build trust, accelerate improvement, and reduce unnecessary static and conflict.
Move towards transparency.
Proactively moving towards an environment where feedback can be given and received transparently, and where it’s normalized and asked for on a regular basis is the goal.
The most direct way to arrive at that place is:
#1 Be more consistent with it.
Have healthy feedback conversations more often. Leaders should be asking for feedback as well to normalize and model that receiving feedback is a positive and healthy way to grow and improve other people’s experience with you.
Consistency also means walking the talk that you actually want to hear what people have to say by taking it to heart and making changes and adjustments based on what you hear.
#2 Level up those skills.
“Feedback is a skill, not a personality trait. So train people.”
Feedback is a skill, not a personality trait. So train people.
If you recognize that feedback is a challenge for people on your team; that they’re threatened by it or not skilled at giving or receiving it then for the love of all that’s good, train up their skill at it.
Unless your people are incredibly great at feedback, then you have a huge opportunity to level them up in a way that will contribute to stronger teams and relationships, and a much healthier work environment and overall culture.
To sum up, anonymous feedback is okay, but it’s not ideal. In the most perfect world feedback is open, honest, transparent, received well and given well. Strive for an environment where feedback is awesome and you’ll have a culture where relationships thrive.
Check out these other Culture Drop videos and blogs around feedback:
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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