Problem with anonymous feedback

I have never been a big fan of anonymous feedback. It just says that the culture might punish you if the feedback is direct. Further, I've seen too many people taking umbrage under the anonymous system and use the process to give feedback that is not actionable, or generic or in some cases even settle scores (especially if the feedback is being given on the immediate manager to the skip level manager). I've also seen people that feel very secure are comfortable sending it directly to the person in question (even when they might be giving the feedback on their manager to their skip level manager). Assuming the manager is seeking honest feedback, this works the best as it opens a direct communication channel and fosters a dialog that can benefit both and ofcourse the organization too. Finally, as managers we need to be creating an environment that values direct and honest feedback. Next time when you are asked to give anonymous feedback, please make sure you send the same to the person to which the feedback is for. Better still feel free and seek honest feedback directly from people that know your work.

Why this post now? I read a very interesting FastCompany article Why Anonymous Feedback Does More Harm Than Good. They give three reasons:

1. It reinforces the impression that it isn't safe to speak up openly.
2. It can set off a witch-hunt to find out who said what, leading away from the issues at hand.
3. It discourages the level of specificity that's needed to make real changes.

The article also talks about how to give better feedback and also has tips managers can use in order to encourage good feedback or move ahead productively with feedback they've received.

Take a look and let me know what you felt.

What RamP's Reading: Sep'15

Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business
Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder Raj Sisodia argue that both business and capitalism are inherently good, and they use some of today’s best-known and most successful companies to illustrate their point. From Southwest Airlines, UPS, and Tata to Costco, Panera, Google, the Container Store, and Amazon, today’s organizations are creating value for all stakeholders—including customers, employees, suppliers, investors, society, and the environment. Read this book and you’ll better understand how four specific tenets—higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and management—can help build strong businesses, move capitalism closer to its highest potential, and foster a more positive environment for all of us.

A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring
After eight books, many of them bestsellers, A Game Plan for Life was the one closest to John Wooden's heart: a moving and inspirational guide to the power of mentorship. The first half focuses on the people who helped foster the values that carried Wooden through an incredibly successful and famously principled career, including his father, his college coach, his wife, Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. The second half is built around interviews with some of the many people he mentored over the years, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Their testimony takes readers inside the lessons Wooden taught to generations of players, bringing out the very best in them not just as athletes but as human beings.

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
Freakonomics lived on the New York Times bestseller list for an astonishing two years. Now authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with more iconoclastic insights and observations in SuperFreakonomics—the long awaited follow-up to their New York Times Notable blockbuster. Based on revolutionary research and original studies SuperFreakonomics promises to once again challenge our view of the way the world really works.