THE PRINCIPAL BELIEFS
Nods, gasps, laughs, widening eyes; our in-person communication relies on these bits of micro-feedback to encourage good communication and dissuade us from bad comms habits.
Unfortunately, as modernization has moved our main comms channels from in-person to online, the micro-feedback loops we rely on to hone our comms were de-prioritized and, as a result, the quality of our project communications have suffered.
Don’t worry, there’s hope! The move to online comms isn’t all bad. There’s lots of upside for the efficiency and effectiveness of comms in a remote-first world, let’s just not do it at the expense of the human-ness of our interactions.
70% of employees say they are motivated to work harder when they feel their efforts are being recognized. We believe recognition doesn’t have to be a standing ovation in a company-wide meeting though, it can be as small as a reaction to a message and should be as frequent as we give micro-feedback in in-person conversations.
From
a one-way status report prepared to placate stakeholders
To
two-way conversations to gain alignment and move work forward
From
stakeholders swoop in to point out problems
To
stakeholders are tuned in and acknowledge micro-milestones regularly
From
project owners waiting till their next meeting to discuss a blocker/decision
To
work moves forward in parallel, no meeting required
Motivate project teams
Scale your leadership
Spend minutes, not meetings, engaging with your growing number of teams and projects
React
Reveal how you think to open a productive dialogue
Unblock work
Give fast feedback to keep working moving, or halt a faulty direction
Celebrate consistent comms
Recognize behaviors that ease the flow of work
Related research
4.0 RITUAL – Show that you are paying attention
Acknowledge weekly updates
Stop waiting for the next meeting. Actually, scratch that, what if you just cancel your status meetings altogether? Is anyone even listening these days? Don’t get us wrong we are BIG FANS of quick and regular feedback. It’s critical to move work forward. But why wait to share updates and give feedback until calendar tetris allows you to schedule a meeting?
We find the best feedback loops are fast, efficient and frequent. So Atlassian teams have been favoring written updates and feedback over meetings for the past 5 years. The benefits are plentiful:
- Conversations and decisions are well-documented for future reference
- Feedback givers can have time to process and write more meaningful responses
- When no feedback is needed, time is not wasted. Stakeholders react in one-click and get back to their flow
Think of this concept of regular feedback as similar to core concepts in agile. Agile teams are often more successful because they are lean, consistent, collaborative and iterative. Apply those same agile principles to the way you react to status updates; give a like, reflect and respond and don’t wait for a meeting to respond.
Explore all the Loop techniques
1.0 Open up your work in progress
1.1 Create reference-able handles
1.2 Open up comments & questions (avoid 1:1 messages)
1.3 Distribute updates in channels where teams live
2.0 Curate, don't automate
2.1 Character constrain your updates
2.2 Update async, spar in real time
2.3 Balance qualitative + quantitative
3.0 Common vocabulary over common tooling
3.1 Define your project’s what, why & how
3.2 Agree on “what is a project” and phases
3.3 Define your status markers (On Track (green), At Risk (yellow), Off Track (red))
4.0 Show that you are paying attention
4.1 Level your feedback in line with phase/fidelity
4.2 Create a read receipts mechanism
4.3 Follow relevant projects & celebrate wins together