When working in large groups or teams, it can be hard to know how things are going. Was this meeting useful? Did a workshop session go well? Is there some issue that needs to be addressed, something no one is talking about?

Regularly asking people for their observations and feedback accomplishes two important things. First, it assures the group that their input has been received. Second, criticism, both good and bad gets out in the open.

The Method

I use a really simple method for getting quick feedback: I pass out two stickies to each person. A green one is for positive feedback—what’s working, what you like. The pink one is for criticism—what isn’t working, what needs improvement, what you don’t like. I give people a minute or two to write something down then collect all the stickies. I transcribe all the responses (takes a couple of minutes) and send them back to the group.

This method gets you a lot of feedback quickly, much of it directly actionable. The format is simple and anonymous. The limited physical size of the stickie keeps people focused.

Using the Results

Collecting and quickly sharing the results is critically important. Openness about criticism, both positive and negative, can mitigate potentially toxic side conversations and prevent problems from turning in to a major crisis. It can also be incredibly effective to show members of the team the diversity of experience and opinion within the group.

How you communicate the results can depend on the culture of your organization. I like to send out the raw list to the meeting participants before synthesizing. Sometimes I will include a summary the results with some immediate actions identified.

When to Use

I’ve used this technique at Adaptive Path, where folks are typically open and relaxed, to get periodic feedback on the content and format of our weekly practice meeting. I’ve also done this mid-workshop with execs from a Fortune 100 financial organization. The client responded strongly and favorably to providing feedback and seeing other responses. This helped us gracefully get through the “valley of despair” that occurs mid-stream in long work sessions. We were also able to adjust the content of the workshop mid-stream to address concerns.

Let me know

If you try this out, let me know how it goes. I’m always curious how techniques like these work in different cultures and teams.