Feedback. It’s something all people say they value. However, some ways of collecting it are more effective than others. I attend many meetings and presentations in which the leader asks if there are any questions, and very few, if any, hands go up. It is no surprise that people tend to be cautious about speaking up in this situation. After a pause or someone’s finally asking a very non-threatening question, the session comes to an end.

There are some typical ways to get feedback via surveys. They can happen after a session or conference, and there are the annual or semi-annual employee engagement surveys. There are also surveys conducted after a person receives a product and/or service. All of these are helpful to an extent.

I have found that there are other methods to gather feedback that create less anxiety and lead to much more engagement. Here are three methods I have found to be effective.

Table Exercise. In many meeting and conference situations, people sit at tables. Instead of asking the overall group if they have questions, ask each table to produce one question. (You could do more if you choose, but one does work well.) Then ask someone from each table to share the question the group produced. I have used this method for years. The response I receive is that people enjoy the table conversations, and they lead to good questions because they’re shared in a safe way. If there are many tables, collect the questions and look for themes. I find it is common for many in the table groups to have similar questions.

Note Card Assignment. Another method is to hand out note cards to everyone in the group and ask them to write down a question. When using note cards to collect feedback, the key is to get a card from everyone. Specify, “If you do not have a question, please write, ‘I do not have a question.’” This gets everyone engaged.

Later, it is easy to read the cards and separate them into similar questions. A session with 100 people will still end up with five to eight questions, because there are so many repeats.

 Engaging the Group. I was presenting to a group in the afternoon time slot. The CEO started the day off with a good state-of-the-company talk. During the presentation, the term “all-in” was mentioned—i.e., “We need to be all-in” or “Everybody needs to be all-in.” During my presentation, I asked each table to choose a scribe and discuss what “all-in” behavior is. It led to a lively discussion.

In these kinds of discussions, each table can report their work, and the CEO can summarize what is collected in a note after the session. Do not assume each person sees “all-in” the same way. Clarity is important. When everyone has the same understanding of what words and concepts mean, they achieve alignment, which is an important part of excellence.

Each of the above methods leads to alignment, clarity, and engagement.

Leaders often say they value feedback. The key is to use methods that make it easy for people to provide.

As always, thank you for reading and for working to become better and better at leadership.