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Managing Research Projects

Managing Research Projects

Asking for feedback

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As a research team leader it is helpful to know how other colleagues, especially your research team, view you – as a leader, manager, mentor, facilitator etc.  Asking for, and acting upon, their views and opinions can be invaluable in building trust and respect between yourself and other team members.  Finding out what other people think about you can also help you to `triangulate’ your own self-view and can provide a helpful catalyst for your own development.

There are some useful pointers to follow when asking others for feedback:

  • Make sure you ask the ‘right’ person for feedback. This person will be someone who has appropriate knowledge and experience of you –  this will ensure the resultant feedback is appropriate and relevant
  • Check that the person you are asking is sufficiently assertive to provide feedback without just providing negative criticism, which might leave you wounded and wondering what to do
  • Also arrange the meeting in advance so that sufficient time can be allocated without being disturbed
  • Provide an explanation about why you want the feedback, for example ‘I’d like to be better at my … skills’. Take a positive approach; use this as an opportunity to convey your desire to learn from the person whose feedback you are seeking
  • If the person has difficulty providing feedback about the area in question, you may need to ask direct questions, for example ‘I’ve noticed the research team as a whole appears quite demoralised, is there anything I can do to improve this?’
  • It may be beneficial, if possible, to ask for feedback from several people on the same topic. In this way you will gather information from different perspectives
  • Be aware that the feedback provided might not always be ‘good news’ and you may become anxious, so aim to stay calm and objective. If it would be helpful, ask clarifying questions so that you gain a real understanding of the root issue
  • Thank the person who has provided the feedback and acknowledge the usefulness of it
  • Congratulate yourself on taking the steps to obtain this feedback and learn about yourself from others.

Dealing with negative feedback

If the feedback is negative, these tips may help you to make the most of the situation:

  • Make sure you are clear about the root cause. Ask for clarification if necessary.
  • Keep calm and don’t let the anxiety overwhelm you.
  • Focus on the behaviour, do not take the comments personally.
  • Do not attempt to defend, deny or provide an explanation for the comments being made.
  • Ask the person for suggestions about how to improve in this area.
  • Reflect on the feedback that has been provided and draft a plan of action to make improvements.
  • Seek feedback from other people to see if they provide the same information.
  • Remember to thank the person for the feedback, what you don’t know does you the most damage!

A simple way to elicit constructive feedback

A simple way to obtain uninhibited feedback from someone is to ask the following questions – based on the stop, start and continue principle:

  • Stop – What would you like me to stop doing, that I do?
  • Start – What would you like me to start doing, that I do not already do?
  • Continue – What would you like me to continue doing, that which I already do well?

Make sure you make use of the feedback once it has been requested and provided!

professional development