Ground rules

• Feedback is up to you

  Of course your supervisor can ask your collegues now and then how they evaluate a certain activity and how the cooperation is working, but explicit feedback about your behaviour, qualities and areas for improvement is something you ask yourself.

• Be transparent in advance with whom you share the feedback

  It is common to share feedback with your supervisor to discuss both your performance and your development: positive, but also critical or unexpected feedback. It is important for the feedback giver to know this.

• Choose your feedback givers diverse

  Not just the colleague you get along with, but also the colleague who works at some more distance to you or whose point of view differs from yours. The basis is that you trust the other enough in a sincere response. Agree with your supervisor who you’re going to ask.

• Be as specific as possible in your question

  This differs for everyone, because the nature of cooperation differs. For example, ask about the behaviour you would like to show in a project or assignment. Does one recognize this? Are your performance and development agreements adequately highlighted?

• Also ask about your strengths

  We tend to focus mainly on our development points. This is certainly valuable, but add to that what qualities they see in you, what your strength is. Here often lies your most development potential.

• Ask for feedback on a regular basis

  Ask for feedback on a regular basis, preferably in concrete terms in the context of certain collaborations or the completion of a project. The more specific you are, the better it works.

• You don't always need to do something with the feedback

  Sometimes it's good to know someone’s observations, but you do not change behaviour. Don't be too quick to judge, let it rest a while before you decide. And let the feedback giver know what you do with the feedback and keep your emotions under control.