Neuroscience of Feedback with Dr Anne Lytle

Beyond radical candour 

When we receive negative feedback at work the floor can shake beneath our feet and it is very hard not to take it personally. We can feel our job is at risk. We can feel diminished by the person pointing to our flaws. Sometimes we shut down and stop listening.

Most people would agree that giving and receiving feedback can be complex. That is why so many managers feel inhibited around these on-the-spot performance conversations.
However, feedback is a critical ingredient in creating an engaged and high-performing organisation. Therefore building a thriving, performance-based feedback culture needs to priority for every leader.

In this episode of the Leadium podcast, Sharon Longridge chats with Dr Anne Lytle.  Dr Lytle holds a BSc from Cornell University in Neuroscience and her MS and PhD in Organisational Behaviour from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.  Anne has taught, presented, and consulted in organisations and universities across the globe. She served as Director of Leadership at Monash Business School. For 20 years, she has been the Director of Lytle and Associates, providing consulting to public, private and non-profit organisations in leadership, influence and impact.

Anne explains that meaningful performance feedback is one of the main drivers of flourishing organisations. She talks about the ideal ratio of negative and positive feedback and why it is crucial to keep an eye on our emotional state during this workplace conversations.

What we cover

• Corrective feedback - why we ten to take feedback personally
• The S.C.A.R.F model - five hardwired aspects of the human social experience
• The status threat - how feedback can undermine our sense of personal power
• Certainty and feedback - the human habit of catastrophising
• Loss of autonomy - why feedback can trigger a loss of control
• The relatedness principle - how social and physical pain activate the brain
• Fairness at work - our hardwired need for equity
• Being preparation - using framing to build receptivity and minimise threats
• Connection credits - How to balance affirming and corrective feedback

Resources

• Connect with Anne Lytle at https://www.annelytle.com/
• David Rock explaining SCARF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wu33SdjeCs
• Book: Your Brain at Work by David Rock https://davidrock.net/books/