The What Am I Doing Wrong Procedure
Most supervisors claim to want feedback from staff, but in my experience it’s very rare for staff to actually provide it. I have written before about how staff sometimes are afraid to tell you when something is wrong. It is a hard problem to solve, as there is no obvious way to know if someone is upset about something and they don’t tell you. In my view, this is a major obstacle that will prevent Poogi. You need the people you supervise to speak up and tell you when something isn’t right. Your programs, your supervision, nothing in your whole organization is perfect. One of the biggest things that we don’t often take advantage of is people’s knowledge about what needs to be improved.
On another front, this is a critical skill that your supervisees will need in their future careers. When people are sitting in meetings, listening to ideas, collaborating with other professionals, and many other activities, the ability to speak up and clearly communicate when something isn’t right — either ethically or scientifically — is a critical skill.
A procedure I’ve used that at least seems effective (it’s hard to know for sure) at increasing the amount of feedback I receive is the “What am I doing wrong here?” procedure. Specifically, I will present something at a staff meeting that sounds as good as I can make it, but doesn’t make sense scientifically or ethically. Then I see if anyone speaks up. If no one does, I might prompt. “Does anyone see anything wrong here?” Then, I enthusiastically reinforce the staff person when they provide feedback. Tell people you are going to do this on a regular basis. Also, if you are the supervisor and you make a natural mistake, it’s great to poke a little fun at it — “Oh, I meant to do that!”
Eventually, people realize that your goal is the POOGI. Once people see giving feedback has both natural reinforcers (we all want to see the program improve) and tangible rewards, you will increase the amount of feedback you receive.
Warning! There will be more wrong than you can imagine. Not only that, it will go on forever as there is no end to the POOGI. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.