3 insights from a feedback survey of myself
Before I finished my previous contract I decided that it would be interesting to get anonymous and less anonymous feedback from people who I’ve worked with. I did this because I had some worries of whether the previous place I worked felt my working practices or attitude needed some improvement or change. I was working with mainly engineers and I felt maybe my vibrant personality and active leadership attitude would be too much for some, and they could maybe express that anonymously. I drafted a quick Google form with a few questions and set sail. I got 19 answers from people who have worked with me during the past few years of the project. There are 3 key things I found out through the survey.
Insight 1 - Results are better than I expected, but there is always room for improvement
I learnt that according to this feedback I should not worry too much about my working practices, as the results were overwhelmingly positive. There was only one person who thought my listening skills could need improving and felt that I maybe do not trust others work enough. This is something that I was worried about and I will try to focus on it more in the future. In dialogic skills this skill is called suspending, and I am very aware that sometimes my enthusiasm overpowers my patience. Some of the things besides suspending, that I could improve according to the feedback were: analytical skills, public speaking skills, even though they are good, but I could relax my speaking pace, and then there was one person who encouraged me to learn to write code.
Insight 2 - People have different views on what leadership is
I have studied management and leadership and as I often take a very active role in projects and meetings and sometimes lead horizontally or upwards in an organization. However, some people did not interpret my leadership skills or didn’t feel they have much experience of those. To me this was puzzling, as in my opinion, I was leading workshops, seminars. meetings, coordination of some results and themes. Some of the participants rather expressed in their answers interpreted leadership through titles, and as mine was not “manager” so I could not be managing or leading in this project. Interesting finding! To me leadership is not in the title, but rather in the attitude, and we all need to lead and manage ourselves and others continuously.
Insight 3 - I have had the privilege of working with amazing people and they’ve enjoyed working with me
When I first read the results of the survey I got emotional, because I felt so grateful that people took the time to write out their comments and feedback. In my previous workplace I had the privilege of working with so many amazing people from so many different organizations around Finland. Here below are most of the comments (translated from Finnish) from my colleagues who have agreed to have their feedback put up on this website. In case anyone of you is reading, thank you <3 (More comments on the project page).
“Every work community should have its own Emma! A knowledgeable expert and a great co-worker and a bringer of the spirit of the work community in one package. Emma knows and dares to ask critical questions that go to the area of discomfort in a developing spirit and always in a friendly way. Emma is also able to look critically at her own work and its benefits and change direction if necessary. ”
“You took over and led many things in the project, which made them progress well and got them to the finish line. You brought a lot of new ideas and practices to the project on how to make the work smoother and more efficient. You’re just awesome when you start boldly but still thoughtfully and analytically to do things! Special mention of presentation skills and English language skills as well as graphic and communication skills. Plus, you’re a super nice and fun coworker. ”
“You are a professional and courageous communicator who is not afraid of challenges, learns quickly and is really comfortable working with. Thank you for a journey full of joy in the project!”
“You’ve had a really good reputation in the Climate team and other projects running around at the same time. Says a lot that one instruction for new project people has been to “chat with Emma”. ”
“In a very exceptional way, Emma is able to keep her feet on the ground even if her head is in the clouds. From a flood of information focused on technology, she identifies the essentials and is able to perceive entities. Emma can be warmly recommended for any task where creativity and visuals are combined with the techno-economic real world.”
“I found it very good that you contacted experts in our organization who have worked for a long time in their own field of building technology, about which, of course, you did not know much when you came to us. You didn’t even assume that the information would walk up to you, but you started asking for yourself and producing new, useful applications and ways to visualize the information from the information you received. ”
“When leading, Emma knows how to guide the group to stay on topic and on schedule. In addition, Emma learns new things and studies independently in an exemplary manner.”
“It is good that you dare to bring out your thoughts and wishes. This greatly helps the whole team to progress and develop, to be inherently competitive. It is easy to work with someone who is honest, open, equal, encouraging and transparent in every situation. Without hidden agendas. A trustworthy approach. ”
“Emma is the best, kept the threads of the whole project in her hands and was always ready to help, reminded the project managers about the schedule and kicked the butt in the right way. Emma is always cheerful and approachable even for a basic engineer :)”