Inclusive feedback is a powerful tool for continuous improvement, enabling leaders to identify areas of strength and weakness within their organization. Armed with these insights, companies can refine their strategies and processes and adapt to what’s around the corner. When I took the position as CEO of Nevada Donor Network (NDN), the organization was in shambles. The established culture was clearly the root of the issue. In the years since, we’ve worked hard to create a culture of inclusivity and accountability built on the power of feedback, with noted success.
Let’s examine inclusive feedback and its widespread positive effects within your organization.
Who’s Included in Inclusive feedback?
Insights from all relevant parties must be considered when looking holistically at an organization. Invaluable information can come from a variety of stakeholders, including but not limited to employees, customers, partners, and critics. By soliciting feedback from everyone, we gain a deeper understanding of the myriad of experiences, preferences, and expectations at play. This empowers leaders to make informed decisions and course corrections, ensuring that efforts are aligned with company goals and the needs of stakeholders.
Can You Hear Everyone?
One of NDN’s core values early on in our transformation was respect, which goes hand in hand with prioritizing inclusive feedback. By ensuring that all stakeholder voices can be heard, you create a space where input from all sides can be respected and considered. It also fosters a spirit of collaboration and transparency across teams. Now, we consider respect a minimum and necessary condition amongst the team rather than a core value. Hearing the thoughts of every person in an organization might sound daunting, especially for larger teams. In addition to being inclusive, you must consider how you plan to analyze, measure, and apply the data once collected. It’s crucial to create a system that gives everyone a platform. Even if it takes time and many iterations to collect data (as was the case at NDN), the process is well worth it.
Who’s on the Hook?
By valuing input from diverse perspectives, companies demonstrate a commitment to responsiveness and accountability. By asking for feedback, organizations send a message that not only will they listen, but they will also go to lengths to apply those insights to create real change. This keeps organizations accountable (on the hook) for correcting their shortcomings over time. When leaders are serious about inclusivity, they help build a cultural and operational infrastructure where everyone knows their contributions are valued and their voices influence the big picture. Inclusive feedback empowers employees to take responsibility for their actions, which in turn creates a heightened sense of accountability at all levels. This leads to more informed decision-making and ultimately contributes to the organization’s overall success and sustainability.
Does It All Line Up?
Inclusive feedback reveals which areas are out of alignment with a company’s values or overall purpose. When you commit to this level of transparency, corporate blind spots start to disappear. The more you know about your processes, the more readily you can see where they are out of alignment with your mission. When I initially analyzed our processes after taking over at NDN, I could see clearly how the way we were doing things hindered us from fulfilling our purpose to the best of our ability. At the time, there was still a core group of people dedicated to our mission, but the opaque, toxic environment void of accountability prevented any meaningful change. Now, our culture of inclusive feedback helps to keep us in line with our mission of honoring as many donors as possible while transplanting as many organs and tissues as we can from each potential donor.
Can You Feel It?
An intentional, inclusive culture is palpable. When executed well, widespread inclusivity creates a level of buy-in that makes team members passionate about the mission and their part in achieving it. This, in turn, creates a domino effect, resulting in higher rates of employee engagement and satisfaction in the workplace. When employees are more content in the workplace, rates of retention soar, creating a more stable and successful organization over time. Don’t delay inclusion any longer. Start finding ways to harness the insights of all your stakeholders, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it might seem at the start.