Workplace conflict costs Irish organisations an estimated €239 million a year in lost productivity, and around 1.7 million missed working days. That’s from NUI Galway research, reported in a recent Irish Times piece.
And that’s only what can be counted.
Where it goes
Most of it starts small. Something isn’t said that should have been said, so it comes out somewhere else: the Irish whispers after the meeting: “What the **** was that about?”
That isn’t because people don’t care. Saying nothing just feels safer than saying the wrong thing.
Over the years at Apple I jumped around, and I’ve been on some truly exceptional teams. I was also lucky enough to work with Morten Hansen, author of the bestseller Great at Work, and to see first-hand how much the feedback loop matters. His research found top performers don’t wait for feedback. They go looking for it, fast and often, and adjust as they go. The best teams I was on didn’t have fewer problems. They just talked about them sooner.
Turning the cost into a competitive edge
If most teams avoid the hard conversation, the team that doesn’t has a real advantage. As author Katie Muldoon told the Irish Times: “A high-performing team doesn’t make fewer mistakes. They learn from them quicker because they can talk about it.”
Hansen’s research backs this up. In his study of 5,000 people, those who learned this way, trying something, getting feedback fast and adjusting, ranked 15 points higher on performance than those who didn’t.
That’s what a feedback culture is. Not a policy or an annual review, but a team where small things get said while they’re still small.
Four ways to start
Make feedback small and often.
Five minutes in a weekly one-to-one, about one specific thing, takes the drama out of it.
Agree how you’ll disagree before you need to.
For example: “We raise problems in the room, not after it.” When tension comes, you have something to point back to.
Ask before you assume.
One sharp email is a bad day. The same thing every week is a pattern worth a conversation.
“That didn’t sound like you. Is everything OK?”
Go first.
Ask for feedback on yourself, and thank people when they give it.
“What’s one thing I could do differently that would make your job easier?”
The point
Avoiding the conversation feels polite, but someone ends up paying for it. Build a team where people can say “that’s not working” early, and what costs other businesses money becomes your edge.
Practise it live. On Thursday 26 November, 12.30pm to 2pm, I’m running a 90-minute online session on giving feedback, with practice and Irish workplace examples. Learn more here
Not sure where to start? Take the free Leadership Effectiveness Snapshot.
