You need to give feedback to your remote team. How can you avoid misunderstandings?
Remote feedback requires extra care to ensure clarity and understanding. Here's how you can avoid misunderstandings:
What strategies have worked for you in giving feedback to remote teams?
You need to give feedback to your remote team. How can you avoid misunderstandings?
Remote feedback requires extra care to ensure clarity and understanding. Here's how you can avoid misunderstandings:
What strategies have worked for you in giving feedback to remote teams?
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- Use precise language and examples. Instead of “Your reports need improvement,” say, “Your last report lacked data on X, which is key for decision-making.” - For sensitive feedback, opt for a video call where tone and intent are clearer. Reserve written feedback for simpler, non-ambiguous updates. - Ask for their perspective: “How do you feel about this feedback?” or “Do you see any roadblocks to implementing this?” This reduces assumptions and fosters alignment. Tone and context are easy to misinterpret remotely. Prioritize clarity and empathy to ensure feedback is constructive, not misconstrued.
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When giving feedback to a remote team, choose a video call to ensure clarity through tone and body language Focus on the behaviors not the people and in the case of documenting any details, write simple and non-emotional. A good follow up must be in writing to reinforce whatever message that has been passed. It is advisable also to engage the group in an open discussion by asking, if there is anything that has not been understood. For instance, one time I directed some feedback to a working group member and asked them to restate what they heard so as to ensure they got it right. Perhaps, a message received and understood as intended, is a product of this laid back approach of building trust and encouraging questions.
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Ask questions & LISTEN! Provide the feedback, then ask them questions about the feedback you provided. Ask them to summarize it for you. If they got it correct, ask them when they can implement these changes, and you can see the new results. Ask them if they have any additional questions. Just so you know – the challenging part is LISTEN. Do not listen to respond; listen to make sure you understand that what they are repeating aligns with your expectations. If not, try to explain it differently during the same interaction.
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To give feedback effectively to the remote team, various members of which may be working from different locations, my standard approach is either to make a group phone call or set up a remote meeting through a video call to explain each and every point. I normally seek the team members' views and ensure that communications are both ways instead of one-sided. Once the feedback is discussed in detail, I would ask a team member to note these in writing in consultation with me to eliminate ambiguity, if any, and then circulate these to the entire team. I found this way of working reduces the scope of miscommunications and misunderstandings.
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