How to conduct a Peer Feedback Conversation and find Flow!

Zoltan Buzady

Tips, Tricks & Best Practices

Fligby is an excellent leadership development tool for sure. By using the virtual-reality-like, interactive-movie-based simulated leadership situations it is the latest tool to train player-participants to become better leaders. The training process also teaches them how they can bring out the best abilities and creativity of their team and staff members – both in the virtual and later in the real world. This concept is not just an art form, but can and should be practiced. In fact, this is the essence and at the core aim of our “Flow-promoting Leadership Concept”, as outlined by our scientific, intellectual and charismatic founding-father Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Yet the principles of ‘Good Business’ also need to be turned into reality and enacted in the many everyday opportunities so as to have a leadership impact, by everyone who is in interaction with real people, real colleagues and real team members at work and in any type of organization – that is not just theory but practice.

Why do people speak so much about the
‘Right Type of Feedback‘?

Giving feedback is one of the 29 leadership skills which FLIGBY measures, and it is of particular importance to induce Flow in your followers (and for yourself of course, too).
Why? Well, because we know for Csikszentmihalyi’s ground-breaking research that:

If there is no source of immediate feedback,
then no Flow-mental state can come about.
So simple!

Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Sadly, far too many organizations still apply the annual feedback sessions. This HR and fake leadership practice are luckily being abandoned by more and more organizations now, as it turns out to become absolute, ineffective, – and yes – all too often frustrating and thus dysfunctional!

Instead, I have constantly emphasized to importance to provide immediate feedback, that is on the job, during the work process or at the points of intermediate results.

Another reality and trend in the era of digitalization are that many people are assuming functions of people’s responsibility or claim to be a ‘leader’, but have not received any training, have not gained personal experience, and are not comfortable to enter the zone of what we call ‘psychological intimacy‘. I would define this zone being moments of high personal (mental and emotional) vulnerability, in which the other person is being trusted so as not to act opportunistically.

Can I learn how to give the right type of feedback to create more Flow?

During my Global Leadership and Global Management Practice courses on the prestigious CEMS – The Global Alliance program, we not only use FLIGBY with great success, we not only learn about Flow-promoting Leadership, measure and develop concrete leadership skills, but also other very important personal and professional development work is taking place:

Students – nota bene: our future managers and leaders – also get their chance to conduct their first, supervised peer-level personal feedback conversations. In fact, in the course evaluations they write, that this conversation is one of the extreme personal highlights to most of them on this course: to speak and to ask for help about your own leadership development plans and about your real difficulties, to receive understanding, to experience caring support and help for your further improvement and change.
In short:

The practice of Peer Feedback Conversations is a great source of experiencing Flow.

During these Peer Feedback Conversations the mental state of being in Flow often comes about:

  • (1) by setting a new overall goal to be achieved by the conversation partner,
  • (2) by outlining some new level of challenge which is not too high and realistic based on the consideration of the person’s existing level of skills,
  • (3) that during the conversation the immediate feedback is given/received, and by the fact that
  • (4) the focus is on the agenda at hand.

Peer Feedback Conversations thus provide a great opportunity to achieve Flow to both persons: the one who is being helped, supported, developed. And also the other person may experience Foow, the one, who leads the conversation.
Both may describe it as a meaningful and gratifying activity and both can grow into becoming a better leader in future!

Ilona is confident, that after experiencing FLIGBY, she will be of good support to Eva and her personal leadership development questions!
Eva has studied her FLIGBY Leadership Report (sample here) and prepared a focus-problem she wants to discuss with Ilona. She knows Ilona is skilled to lead her to positive change and to ways in which to find more Flow at work.
No wonder that Ilona is well prepared. She has explored the Tips, Tricks & Best Practices on how to conduct a successful and fruitful Peer Feedback Conversation!

You too can watch all Tips, Tricks & Best Practices here now.

12 Minutes – So… Can you commit yourself to this time length?

Zoltan Buzady
Watch ALL Tips, Trick and Best Practices HERE on YouTube
After a while, Eva and Ilona both are getting “into the Zone”. They feel in being in control, their Ego is gone, time flies by, only the present matters, they feel internally energized, are very creative – they are mental-state: Flow.
Bonus: you can also see the slides HERE – Enjoy!
Eva is thankful to Ilona – Tips, Tricks & Best Practices and Ilona’s Flow during the conversation have worked out! Wow!
Ilona was well prepared, used all her skills and intuition – She also enjoyed the conversation and was in Flow mental-state too! Conducting a Peer Feedback Conversation was a helpful, professional and meaningful activity for both of them!
That is what I wish for you! Your feedback is welcome! Zoltan

Comments

comments