Feedback is important in helping us to grow and improve what we do. Well-functioning teams are ones in which all parties feel able to and are encouraged to give feedback to each other, regardless of the hierarchies in place in the workplace. Listening to and acting on feedback helps us to improve our performance and our relationships with others; this is true whether you are the most junior member of the team or the person at the head of it. 

The following tips will help you get the most from the feedback you receive:

• Ask for feedback. People can worry about giving others feedback because they don’t know how it will be received. Requesting feedback from people in different roles will reduce these concerns and allow people to give you feedback that is more useful. When you do ask people to give you feedback, don’t expect to receive it immediately. People generally need time to think and prepare what they are going to say
• Don’t be defensive. Feedback is a reflection of you from another perspective. You don’t have to defend your actions or disagree with the person giving you feedback. What is important is that you understand this alternative perspective and can learn from it
• Listen carefully. Don’t interrupt the person giving you feedback. Focus on what is being said rather than becoming distracted by thinking about how you are going to respond – for example, to justify yourself