Is Protective Hesitation Getting in the Way of Feedback?
Fresh Ideas from Us
Protective hesitation is one reason people from dominant groups (like white folx or men) shy away from giving feedback to those who hold different identities. The feedback giver may have a conscious or subconscious fear of being seen as biased, racist, or sexist, for example. Have you noticed this within yourself? Or within others?
We know that feedback at work is often biased, so this is a valid thing to watch out for. But we also know that people of color, women, and others facing marginalization in the workplace often don’t receive the quality feedback they need to advance in their careers and build generational wealth and opportunity.
If you’re part of a dominant group at work and you’ve felt hesitant to give feedback, ask yourself these reflection questions:
Am I investing the same amount of attention in all of my coworkers? Am I giving them all the same quality of feedback?
Am I feeling fear or worry about giving feedback to a particular person? Why? Is it possible to move forward even through strong emotions?
Is my feedback intended to help the other person grow or be more successful? If I am concerned my feedback might be biased, whose advice can I seek before delivering the feedback?
If I make a mistake in my communication, how might I recover? How might I respectfully make amends?
Quote from Somebody Else
“There is no failure. Only feedback.”
– Robert Allen
Probing Question
Who in your world could benefit from more feedback?
