Feedback - The Million Dollar Question

Asking your team members, 'How am I doing?' is unthinkable and just not the done thing. Not only will you come across as insecure but it's highly unlikely that you will get the answers you're looking for.  

So how can you find out what your direct reports think of you in the absence of a formal feedback process? Well, there is a particularly effective approach and that's to ask a simple question.

The fear factor

+Jill Geisler, in her book 'Work  Happy – What Great Bosses Know', calls this the Million Dollar Question. Jill explains, "The reason this is so effective is that managers get very little feedback from staff. They may be hesitant to complain, for fear of retribution, or to compliment for fear of looking like sycophants. So the messages go unsaid. 

The Million Dollar Question asks for measurable information and goes as follows:

“Is there anything you need more of – or less of – from me?”