Performance Feedback: Two sides of the same coin

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Roy Recker
  • 48th Operations Support Squadron commander
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  As we near election season, the national electorate is preparing to cast their votes in local and national races. Our votes will provide a type of "performance feedback" to our elected leaders.

During this time, have you thought about the feedback you see as Airmen? Now is a good time to reflect about whether we are doing a good job giving feedback within our Air Force.

As Airmen, we will undoubtedly have an opportunity to lead, and this will be one of the most rewarding experiences we can have. With these rewards come several burdens of leadership. Among many responsibilities, the leader must accomplish the task at hand, ensure subordinates are resourced and clearly convey command intent. Even after we declare "Mission Accomplished," the leader's job is still not complete. To be truly effective leaders--and followers--we must give and receive feedback with our teams of Airmen.

Some may find it uncomfortable to ask their boss, "So, how did I do?" We might be nervous or unwilling to hear negative feedback. Surely, no one enjoys hearing that they could have done better. However, imagine if an Olympic track athlete never timed their runs? How would they know if they are improving or not? In a similar light, as members of the best Air Force in the world, how are we to know if we are doing well if we don't ask?

Therefore, once the job is done---whether it's flying a training sortie, performing red-ball maintenance or processing cargo in support of a deployment---we have an obligation to ask our leaders, "How did I do?" Sometimes the answer isn't what we want to hear, but what we need to hear. If you approach a feedback session with a desire to improve, you will find feedback an invaluable tool in your professional and leadership developmental journey.

As leaders, then, we must seek out our team members and provide feedback. It should not be limited to just issuing an Airman Comprehensive Assessment and an annual performance report. Feedback should be provided on a regular basis---at the end of an exercise, after a mission or even at the end of the work day. The interval is just as important as the feedback itself.

Just as receiving feedback can be uncomfortable, so too can be providing feedback. It can be quite difficult telling fellow Airmen, "You did not perform well. Here's what you need to do better." However, as mentioned earlier, this is one of the burdens of leadership. As a leader, you are in the position to "hold the stopwatch" and tell the Olympic athlete that they need to improve to win the gold medal. Finally, don't get caught in the trap that all feedback should be negative. Well-rounded feedback highlights areas that went well too. Take the opportunity to tell your team what went very well, what went "okay" and what has to change for next time.

In the end, feedback is an important tool that leaders and followers should use on a regular basis. Soliciting and providing feedback forms two sides of the same coin. As Airmen we won't know how we've done without feedback--making it difficult to figure out how to improve for next time. As members of the world's greatest Air Force it is our job to "win the gold" in all we do.