We were discussing leadership qualities a few months ago in a conference room adjoining the Baltimore Sun newsroom. My companions were editors and supervisors of all ranks from a host of different newsrooms, gathered for a regional NewsTrain session on becoming more creative leaders. The subject was feedback, and I recall an exchange something like this:
“How well are you doing your job?” I asked.
Lots of humility: some hesitant nods, a few uncertain head bobs –- in general, a reluctance to answer.
“Note that I didn’t ask you, how do you think you’re doing,” I clarified. “I asked, ‘How well are you doing?’ How well does your boss say you’re doing?”
The reluctance began to morph into an unspoken -– but clear -– answer. I asked the obvious follow-up.
“So how many of you get regular feedback from your boss?”
In a room of 35, a few spoke out. “I do,” one woman said. Some others raised their hands. Many sat quietly or shook their heads.
“If you don’t get feedback,” I pressed, “how can you know how you’re doing? And if you don’t know how you’re doing, how do you do your job?
“How do you decide what to do?”
The answer would seem to explain a lot about Advil consumption among journalists.
January marked my first anniversary on the Poynter faculty, and during my first year, I heard a lot of journalists talk about feedback.
Feedback they give, feedback they receive -– or more accurately, the feedback they don’t give or receive.
Maybe you’ve heard the same statements. Or maybe they’re yours:
- “I don’t really need a lot of feedback.”
- “I must be doing okay, since no one’s telling me otherwise.”
- “I gave up a long time ago on getting any feedback –- I figure if they’re unhappy with my work, they’ll tell me.”
- “I’d like to give more feedback, but there’s just not time.”
Sound familiar? Face it: Our newsrooms have a major hang-up with telling each other how well we’re doing. Constructive feedback does not naturally flow upward or downward. And it exacts a toll on the work. Far too often, journalists at all levels are left to divine for themselves what they’re doing well, what they need to improve and what they should stop doing altogether. It’s an angst-ridden, ineffective system and it doesn’t have to be this way.
How about this for an apt comparison? I found it on the Web, courtesy of Professor Edward G. Wertheim, Associate Professor of Human Resources Management at Northeastern University. It works for me: “Withholding constructive feedback is like sending people out on a dangerous hike without a compass.”
And don’t we all know, no matter what journalists say about whether they need feedback, that they really do want it? After all, don’t you?
A few weeks ago, Poynter hosted more than 50 newspaper, broadcast and online journalists for our Leadership Academy, a weeklong program.
A key component of the week is a session devoted to providing the participants with written feedback from six of their colleagues back home –- their supervisor, a peer and four direct reports. The feedback is signed, so the participant can follow up after the seminar and turn the feedback into a starting point for a more productive relationship.
It works.
Listen to what some of the participants said afterward in their evaluations of the week:
- “This was really enlightening. To me, it was a valuable chance to … get to know my (co-workers) much better and have a better understanding of myself.” (Sergio Pecanha, Design Editor for Graphics at the Dallas Morning News)
- “Perhaps the most valuable data yet.” (John Siniff, Executive Forum Editor, USA Today)
- “This was wonderful. Not just the … feedback but (working with someone) to guide me through my emotions and offer incisive guidance. I took a great deal away from this.” (Kelly Frank, Executive Producer, KPNX-TV, Phoenix)
- “Amazing. I have never seen feedback from my subordinates in this format before.” (Mark Somerson, Assistant City Editor, Columbus Dispatch)
- “Knowing what people expect of me -– and how I can get across what I expect of people -– is invaluable.” (Andrew Smith, Deputy Long Island Editor, Newsday)
- “This was helpful in showing me how people see me, what they want from me. I have not always been aware of just how much people are looking to me for guidance, leadership.” (Tom Perrin, Metro Editor, Jackson Citizen Patriot)
At the Academy, participants received their feedback early in the week and used it to design their plan for developing a more effective leadership style. Constructive feedback rests at the very heart of our efforts to improve as journalists, whether we are editors, news directors, reporters, or photographers.
Truth is, constructive feedback rests at the heart of our efforts to become better people.
We spent a good deal of time during the Academy discussing the many forms feedback takes; some strategies for making more time to devote to it, and the harm we risk in doing it poorly. We could have spent hours more.
That’s how important it is to have a good compass.
Do you receive enough feedback from your boss? If you’re not sure of your answer, consider these questions:
- Do you know how well you’re doing your job?
- Has your boss given you specific examples of what you’re doing well, and examples to illustrate what you need to work on?
- Have you and your boss agreed on a plan for measuring your growth over time? What do you agree improvement will look like?
- Does your boss know your ambitions? Have you received straightforward feedback on what you need to do to achieve those ambitions?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, you seem to be receiving the information you need to help you grow as a journalist. If not, maybe it’s time to ask your boss for a conversation.
After all, you have that right. Just as much as you have the right to a computer, a telephone and auto reimbursement, you have the right to honest, constructive feedback. Otherwise, how can you do your job?
Finally, if you’re a newsroom leader at any level, please think about whether each and every member of your staff knows –- from your own mouth -– how well he or she is doing, and what needs to get better.
Yes, time is an issue. But what puts feedback so low on our list of priorities? Is it less important than answering e-mail? Returning phone calls? Any of the countless meetings on your schedule?
We make time for the things we most value. Don’t we?
Maybe today, a staffer simply needs a thank you for a job well done. Maybe next month, you can share an hour and review, with examples, her recent work. Maybe in July, you can talk about his dreams and what he needs to do to make them come true.
At each meeting, you also will have the priceless opportunity to ask your staffer how well you’re doing. What a gift — if they’re willing to give and you’re willing to listen.
We all can get better. But we all –- all -– need a compass.
