Feedback Can Improve Engagement & Performance!

Do you get stressed thinking about employee performance discussions? Does asking employees for input on your work seem inconceivable? Giving and receiving feedback can be emotion-laden and potentially damaging to your organization’s culture when not done effectively. In this course, we will practice skills to reduce stress around feedback discussions for you as leaders and for your staff. We explain how the effective use of feedback can improve employee engagement and motivation – factors that will support your program’s overall success. This includes understanding why we give feedback and best practices for giving feedback. Many of us have experiences with receiving feedback from managers. Sometimes feedback can help improve skills, motivate, and grow employees. Other times feedback challenges, discourages and frustrates. You can become a leader who uses feedback to do the previous by giving frequent feedback, praising and redirecting behaviors, and observing staff directly. But effective feedback isn’t that simple.

Understanding the source of the issue or conflict is the first step in preparing to give feedback. You will learn to understand and assess if conflict is a result of poor communication, different values, different interests, scarcity of resources, personality clashes, or simply deficit performance.

The strongest leaders are always preparing to give feedback and always giving it. You will learn the importance and the effect of observing staff directly, giving frequent feedback, and praising behaviors publically. When you do this, staff will become more comfortable with receiving feedback and more effectively able to use the feedback that you are giving them.

Then we will introduce the feedback loop, where you will learn to acknowledge common mission and values. Then you will address an area for growth using objective information, and the effect of their performance on the program. You will learn how to develop a plan to support and improve the staff member’s performance. This will include developing your understanding of the levels of support which you can use to identify the needed supports for staff that will help them improve their performance. You will then close the feedback loop by sharing the employees strengths and contributions.

You will have opportunities to observe examples of a leader using the feedback loop effectively and identify what aspects of the feedback loop are missing from the feedback that managers give. Last, you will prepare to use the feedback loop with your own staff by preparing and receiving feedback on what you will say to them.

In addition to using the feedback loop to improve staff performance, you will learn how to effectively utilize feedback that you receive to improve your program. We receive all kinds of feedback in our positions as leaders in OST programs. This feedback comes from students, parents, our supervisors, and our staff. At times it is challenging to know when what others say about us as leaders or about our program should receive attention – is the angry parent right? Should I change the staff policy? You will learn that it is important to start by always listening to what others have to say. By doing this we are responsive and even if we don’t use the feedback we are receiving, our stakeholders will feel listened to. As we listen, one thing we should do is ask for specific examples. With this information, you will learn to consider the source and evaluate the feedback using the “3 Rs” – your reaction, the relevance, and your responsibility. With that information in hand, you will keep the useful information and let go of the negative feelings that come with negative feedback.

As you and your staff begin to apply these strategies you will experience some early resistance to change, but with consistency you will find that over time staff begin to listen and apply what you are saying. When your feedback and support is received, your staff will begin to improve. Improved individual staff performance can in turn support organizational growth.

In the last part of this course, you will learn how to use the feedback loop to help accomplish organizational goals. We will explain how organizational goals should inform individual goals. These are often documented and measured through the performance review process. When you do this, performance reviews paired with feedback and support become the most powerful tool you have for improving organizational performance and growth.

This course is designed for emerging and new leaders to build their confidence as they supervise staff. If this sounds like things that you want to do, but too complex for you – you’ve come to the right place. We will break the feedback process down into simple steps that any leader can use with their staff, and practice makes perfect. The activities will give you opportunities to practice and receive feedback on your work so that when you use these skills in your program you can do so with confidence. Additionally, we are always available to provide leaders will additional support and practice as you build your confidence in providing feedback and are happy to support you as an emerging leader.

Although the skills taught in this course are applicable across many fields, the examples and activities target leaders working with youth in the out of school time field. We know that out of school time leaders come from a wide variety of backgrounds – school-day, nonprofit, social services and many others. Because of this, Foundations, Inc. offers courses on a variety of aspects of program management and leadership with new courses under development all the time. If you have something that you need and don’t see on this website, reach out. This course is idea for new leaders that are not familiar or confident in leading a staff and supports your management skills.

We hope that you will join us on this learning journey and improve your leadership skills and your program’s overall performance using effective feedback. These skills are not just for the business world – high quality leadership strategies like these can make a difference for our communities, families, and every child, every day.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have access to the course materials?

You can view and review the lecture materials indefinitely, like an on-demand channel.

Can I take my courses with me wherever I go?

Definitely! If you have an internet connection, courses on Udemy are available on any device at any time. If you don’t have an internet connection, some instructors also let their students download course lectures. That’s up to the instructor though, so make sure you get on their good side!