Case study: Feedback
(see p. 38)
The following comments are provided as food for thought. Different interpretations are, of course, possible.
What do you think about Jackie’s feedback to Jeremy?
There is positive intention behind Jackie’s feedback. She is the leader of a high-performing team and has a team culture that she wants to maintain. She is looking to onboard Jeremy quickly into the team. She makes explicit that she values his experience and expertise, and that she sees an opportunity for the team to learn from him. In general, setting clear expectations at the beginning is good practice because it can help to avoid conflict. However, certain aspects of Jackie’s feedback can be viewed more critically. The conversation is a sensitive one and is perhaps not best held spontaneously in the kitchen. Also, Jackie is judgemental in many respects. For example, she accuses Jeremy of not engaging with the team. She could ask more questions to explore Jeremy’s motivations and his behaviour, and look for ways to negotiate a solution.
What reasons does he give for his behaviour in the team? How valid do you think these reasons are?
Jeremy tries to explain his behaviour in positive terms: he is trying to listen, he thinks the markets are different, so he may not yet be able to contribute. And he has a lot to do, so he wants to focus on the main functions of his role and not on the responsibilities of others. The comments are all valid, although it seems that he has not explained his motivations to the others, which may be a cause of misunderstandings in the team.
What other factors might explain Jeremy’s behaviour so far?
A number of other factors might be playing a role here. As it happens, Jeremy tells Jackie in the next meeting (on Friday) that, as a native speaker, he does not want to dominate the non-native speakers, so he disciplines himself to listen and say very little. He is also feeling uncomfortable with the fact that he is “forcing” everybody to speak English when they could otherwise speak Italian together. Also, Jeremy is very worried that he may not have the necesssary expertise for his role, and he does not believe that one person alone can deliver what is needed in this start-up phase for the Asia-pac region. This could be causing Jeremy to lack confidence and feel uncertain of himself, which he communicates indirectly with his silence.
How do you think the team should handle this situation?
Many experts recommend that teams should “cocreate” their own culture by discussing explicitly the meaning that they wish to give to the concept of “team”. What are the expected behaviours and the benefits of such behaviours, and which behaviours are not acceptable? This team didn’t have this discussion with Jeremy — neither at the recruitment phase nor when he joined the team. This has allowed misunderstandings to arise. The team should now define its own best practice for communication — information-sharing, problem-solving in meetings, email protocols, etc. — and discuss its expectations in terms of collaboration and support. They should also discuss any individual needs or preferences for working independently.