Last week, Dr. Barbara Kelly presented to My Collaborative Team about Building Competency in the Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback. It was a powerful and informative presentation that left attendees with much to think about. Including this comment from My Collaborative Team member, Bernard Stephaniuk.

“I think it is important to have “feedback” on the agenda for the first 4-way meeting. This way clients (and lawyers and neutrals) hear the same (or different) information as to what this can be. A kind of education to feedback but also to know where the other lawyer or neutral is at in giving or receiving feedback.”

Bernard Stephaniuk, MCT Member

Allowing us as professionals to be vulnerable amongst colleagues and clients can be a scary task, but shouldn’t it also be part of the paradigm shift we make as Collaborative professionals? How can we ask our clients to be open and honest about their lives and situations, if we professionals cannot be open and honest about the feedback we receive and deliver? Of course, many people may still feel that doing this in front of the clients is crossing a boundary, but simply refusing to accept or provide feedback is disingenuous to the entire process and our teammates.

As Dr. Kelly described in the My Collaborative Team Advanced Training Series, not everyone gives or receives feedback in the same way. It is up to us as teammates to learn and navigate the best feedback styles for the professionals on our team. Adapting to our clients’ needs is something we do quite often, so why not for our teammates as well? Avoidance is not the answer. We strongly encourage all professionals to incorporate feedback into their Collaborative Process as it is one of the best ways we can improve as professionals.