Good Feedback

I'd like to take a break from writing about development to write about good feedback. We got our midterm grades today, and it was exciting. I was glad to see how well I was doing (and I was doing pretty well), but I was actually more excited to see what I wasn't doing so well on. Knowing what I need to work and and working on it feels wonderful.

A little while back, a team member gave me feedback in person, and I've been working on incorporating that feedback into what I do. Knowing what I'm doing well is good; knowing what I can do better is great.

There was actually a team I was on a little while back that didn't do a very good job of this. In fact, after the class was over, they never contacted me again. I was kicked off the team without them even telling me, or telling me why I was kicked off. I had to go out of my way to find out I wasn't welcome on the team anymore, and nobody ever gave me reasons for why that happened. It was horrible.

So knowing what I'm doing wrong and how I can fix it to be a more productive member of the team is really gratifying. It means my team likes me and wants me to do better. It really goes to show how far good feedback can go.