{"id":333,"date":"2018-01-22T17:18:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T17:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielvlopes238992071.wordpress.com\/2018\/01\/22\/the-2-most-common-excuses-that-keep-you-from-getting-honest-feedback\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T10:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T17:22:07","slug":"the-2-most-common-excuses-that-keep-you-from-getting-honest-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2018\/01\/22\/the-2-most-common-excuses-that-keep-you-from-getting-honest-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2 most common excuses that keep you from getting honest feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Take a closer look: You may be unintentionally cutting yourself off from the honest feedback you want to hear.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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I was on the phone with a CEO the other week. He wanted my advice on how he could cultivate a more open, transparent company culture<\/a> for his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This CEO seemed to be already doing a lot of the right things. He held monthly all-hands meetings to get everyone on the same page. He also regularly asked questions to his employees about what could be better in the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when I recommended one question that he ask his employees, he was a bit taken aback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want me to ask my team: \u2018 Are there any benefits we don\u2019t offer that you think we should?<\/em> \u2018 Hmm, I dunno, Claire,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This CEO assured me that he welcomed and valued feedback from employees. But asking about company benefits? And asking about them so publicly<\/em>? He started to feel nervous about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t want the feedback to be a distraction,\u201d he shared. \u201cThere\u2019s so much we already do around benefits\u200a\u2014\u200aI think this could set the wrong expectations and derail people from getting their work done.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd, I don\u2019t think we\u2019re ready to act on that feedback. If we ask that question, it implies we need to implement something. But it might not be cost-effective. If we can\u2019t do it, I don\u2019t want to let people down.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I get it. I\u2019m a CEO myself. No CEO wants her employees to be distracted. No CEO wants to make false promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the reality, though: If you dig deeper, those two statements are actually excuses that are keeping you from building the open, transparent company culture<\/a> you\u2019re keen on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excuse #1: \u201cI don\u2019t want feedback to be a distraction.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Any feedback your employee might have already existed, whether or not you choose to ask about it. If someone has an idea to improve company benefits, that\u2019s an idea that they\u2019re already thinking about in their heads. So if you don\u2019t ask about it\u200a\u2014\u200aif you let that feedback sit and fester\u200a\u2014\u200ait becomes a distraction. The longer you ignore it, the longer you don\u2019t ask about it, the greater the distraction balloons. The way to nip the distraction in the bud is to ask about it. When you ask a question like, \u201c Are there any benefits we don\u2019t offer that you think we should?<\/em>\u201d, you have an opportunity to clear the air, and help an employee feel heard. Asking for feedback isn\u2019t the distraction\u200a\u2014\u200apretending that your employees don\u2019t have feedback is<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excuse #2: \u201cI\u2019m not ready to act on feedback.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Popular management wisdom tells you, \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t ask for feedback unless you\u2019re ready to act on it.\u201d Sure, if you don\u2019t do something with the feedback, you\u2019ll look like you\u2019re not following through on your word. But acting on feedback doesn\u2019t necessarily mean implementing the actual piece of feedback. You can thank the person who gave you the feedback. You can explain why you\u2019re not enacting the feedback, and provide context for the decision. Both routes show you\u2019re listening, and that you value your employees\u2019 feedback. Oftentimes, that recognition and explanation are all an employee is looking for. They\u2019ll take notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever caught your own manager\u200a\u2014\u200aor yourself\u200a\u2014\u200asaying the above two excuses, then here\u2019s my tip: Stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you may mean well, you\u2019re hindering yourself from creating the open, transparent company culture<\/a> you\u2019ve always wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udc4a Okay<\/strong><\/em>, so have you put the excuses aside? Are you ready to get honest feedback from your team<\/em><\/strong>? If so, you’ll want to use our Culture Questions in Canopy. These regular, periodic questions about your team’s culture will help you uncover insights you’ve never known before \u2013\u00a0and we give you hundreds of researched questions to do this. Try Canopy and our Culture Questions today.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article was originally published for <\/em>Inc.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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