Using personality for feedback sessions with impact!
Feedback is a critical part of any relationship between leaders and team members, and across teams. Like any relationship, open and honest dialogue is critical to success.
In fact, frequent and well delivered feedback has the potential to triple motivation and engagement!
The more we chat about what’s working and what’s not working, share thoughts and hear the views of others, and align around common goals, the happier and more aligned we’ll all be.
It’s pretty obvious right. We’re social creatures after all, and feeling safe and part of the tribe matters.
But in these feedback conversations, whether informal or formal, how often do you stop to think about the role personality is playing?
How does your personality impact how you give feedback?
Are you tailoring your feedback to the personality of the person you’re giving feedback to?
Our personality has a big impact on how we see and engage with the world, so bringing this into the mix can help elevate the feedback conversations to a place where they really land. Today, we want to share a few thoughts on this with you…
The TALY Personality Profiling brings together…
• scientifically-backed personality profiling
• tailored to the needs of your business, culture and the role
• delivered through customised, locally-built AI tools to ensure accuracy
Get in touch to find out more about how you can use TALY profiling to give you the insights you need to build great teams - from recruitment onwards! Or Book a Demo today to see how easy it is to start using TALY in your business.
What is the role of personality?
Think about this. If you have a really structured mindset, you’ll value detail, structure, process and clear objectives when you’re receiving feedback. And because of this, you’ll also naturally believe that others value the same.
But those around you in your team may not be as structured as you are. They may actually find structure limiting (or just boring) – and therefore spending all your time in feedback sessions on detail and process may feel important to you, but it just won’t connect with them.
You walk out feeling you had a great conversation and made your point. They walk out feeling confused or bored.
But worse, they walk out feeling like the conversation wasn’t “right” for them – and that has an impact on outcomes and engagement.
Our core personality is proven to play a key role in our motivations, how we connect with others, how we respond in different situations and more. As humans, we are naturally attuned to things that make sense to us. We love to connect with people who “get” us and talk to us in a way that makes sense.
What does this mean for feedback sessions?
If you understand the personality of the person you’re giving feedback to, you can…
Deliver the conversation in a setting and style that aligns with their personality;
Tailor the message in a way that aligns to their personality;
Create an open environment of shared understanding where both parties feel seen and ultimately more open and honest.
How does it work?
For me, this is the killer example.
A leader at a major health care provider created a very open environment with plenty of conversation, room to share thoughts and provide feedback, regular check-ins, no judgement, outcome focused. You name it – all the right things to create a typical environment that would normally encourage open feedback.
But it didn’t work! Why?
Because some people in the team were introverted, were low on self-confidence, were goal oriented (rather than social), and felt a little anxiety. So, the open and sharing environment to them was actually perceived as threatening. Rather than engaging and sharing, they just wanted to quit.
If you want to build an approach to feedback that really lands, you need to start with personality first. Look at the individual you are connecting with, check out their personality profiling, understand how to communicate effectively with them, and tailor your feedback accordingly.
Then when you speak, they’ll hear you.
And in return you’ll get the insight you need from them as well.
Sounds like a lot of hard work right! Luckily, AI and clever personality profiling can now make this super easy!
It’s important to note here that we are NOT talking about changing the feedback or holding back on sharing anything – you just adjust the way you share it.
For example, if you’re connecting with someone who is highly success oriented, make sure you build in elements to the feedback on how it will contribute to achieving goals, what the milestones are, where the proof points are – the language that makes sense to them.
Imagine the feeling when the message really lands!
When it all lines up, here’s what you can expect…
The message will land.
Your feedback sessions will move from slightly awkward conversations to free-flowing discussions that solve problems and come up with plans. You’ll both walk out of the meeting feeling seen and understood.
You know that feeling when you just have a great chat, and it all makes sense? Like that, every time.
The outcomes will make more sense.
As mentioned, communicating to people in a way that doesn’t align with their personality can sometimes just create confusion. By structuring conversations in a way that aligns with their personality, the pieces of the puzzle come together and they can see and feel the whole picture.
More opportunity for two-way dialogue.
By creating an open and respectful environment that reflects your personality AND their personality, all of a sudden you will both feel more confident to share feedback both ways – in a way that reflects each other’s needs. Imagine a scenario where a reserved team member feels encouraged to share insights, fostering a feedback exchange that benefits both parties.
It’s an opportunity to drive engagement (or to kill it)
That feeling of walking out of a meeting feeling seen, understood and respected. Well, that’s the secret to engagement.
So why not get started? Next time you are about to share feedback with someone in your team, stop for a moment. Check out their personality profile, consider the message and think about just one thing you could alter in the way you run the conversation. This simple step can align the feedback more closely with who they are, making the exchange more meaningful and impactful.
You’ll feel the difference straight away!
The TALY approach to personality profiling brings together a unique mix of Five Factor and Emotional Intelligence profiling to help organisations, hiring managers and teams to make better decisions about recruitment and teams.
Get in touch to find out more… we love talking about this stuff! Or Book a Demo today to see how easy it is to start using TALY in your business.