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Finding the Right Feedback

Posted: May 16, 2017 at 8:00 am

Opinions and feedback are typically not hard to come by, especially with the multitude of rating and review sites on the Internet. But is the feedback you’re getting effective, constructive or helpful to building up your nonprofit? When is the right time to look for feedback to improve?

Here are a few feedback tips to get the information you need when you need it in order to properly improve your organization:

shutterstock_344224748 Fix it before it breaks.

If you’re always looking for improvement when you have problems to fix, then you’re always playing defense, struggling to make yourself look good when you’re on the verge of looking bad. Instead, play offensively by looking into how you can improve, even when your nonprofit is thriving. There will never be a time where you can’t benefit from some kind of change.

 

 

Ask your peers about your peers.

Creating a survey on how the board members feel the organization is running and how individual board members are performing before approving re-election for each will help you see the value of each person on your team and whether or not everyone should stand for re-election. Having these surveys filled out allows the team to know that they are a valued member and it can create a strength to the organization when they know they are seen as a great addition to the nonprofit.

 

 

Remember to build the team up.

Feedback is not a time to bring people down because you can. Instead, advise your team to share an idea to fix an issue they may see. An example of constructive criticism – If someone believes John is not planning and promoting events well in advance, share that notion and offer a solution such as creating a content calendar to map out deadlines to start planning, have details set in stone and what to promote when and how. This way, John does not feel like he’s being called out, but rather he feels like he has a team behind him that he can trust to support him.

 

 

When you hear a problem, respond.

If you catch wind of a problem brewing, don’t be afraid to confront the situation, get to the bottom of it and find a solution. Ignoring an issue may only worsen the situation. If there are issues within the team, gather those involved and get feedback from all members. Many times conflicts arise from misunderstanding or not having the full story. If there’s someone that believes another isn’t working hard enough, there might be something occurring in his/her personal life. Stopping rumors and creating an open and comfortable atmosphere within the board will help people share issues, confront them without gossiping, and create a team that is willing to step up to help each other to benefit the nonprofit as a whole.


 

At the end of the day, there’s always going to be room to grow and feedback to listen to. Make sure you know how to manage the information you’re receiving and help your nonprofit thrive.

Here at Raising Help, we love helping do-gooders like you do more good. See the services we have to offer, and reach out to us to strengthen your brand and mission.