Who hasn’t experienced it? Sometimes, even the most routine tasks of daily life can overlap with work. Who hasn’t had the perfect solution to a problem pop into their head in the shower or come to them in a dream at night?
But that’s not what we’re talking about today. Today’s topic is walks. Is work a walk in the park? Yes, with the right team (and we have that), work can sometimes feel like a walk. But that’s not what we’re focusing on right now. We’re talking, so to speak, about professional walking!
This isn’t a post about promoting workplace health; instead, it's about a popular choice among many Pentacornesen for holding meetings when the weather is nice. Have you ever been out and about in Küchwald or along the Chemnitztalweg near the Schönherrfabrik during the day? Then you might have already seen us in action.
Did you happen to cross paths with three Pentacornesen, with one person just quietly strolling along? That was probably a feedback conversation you literally bumped into!
Our feedback conversations, which we love to hold in the woods, are part of a process that takes place twice a year. The idea behind it is this: we want everyone on the team to receive feedback—both giving and receiving it.
Of course, feedback can always be proactively requested by individuals, usually with a specific question in mind, like: “What opportunities do you see for my development? Do you have any tips or suggestions for me?” Every so often, there are also “We need to talk!” moments, where feedback tends to be more reactive, such as: “What you said the other day didn’t go over well.”
So, we see that the need to give feedback often arises when something goes wrong. But we also recognize that even feedback without suggestions for improvement is still valuable and important. Praise can also be the sole content of a feedback conversation: “Your presentation the other day was really great! Thanks for sharing it with us!”
“Feedback is structured information that one person gives to another regarding the impact of their actions, behaviors, or words.”
Feedback is, therefore, a two-way street, and it’s at the core of our feedback culture. That’s why we don’t want feedback to be just “occasion-based” but to happen regularly and in “structured ways,” with a few ground rules:
Process of the Feedback Cycle
When a feedback cycle starts, two Pentacornesen are selected each week to receive feedback. Now, not all 28 other people rush to give them all the feedback they’ve ever wanted to say. Instead, the first step is to issue a call: Who can and wants to give feedback? Who would like to participate as a neutral third party in the planned conversation (or walk)? We have one week to reflect on this and respond to the call before the two selected Pentacornesen get a list of all volunteers. They then choose someone from the list to give feedback and decide whether they want a neutral third party present. The participants then schedule the meeting on their own.
Important: Everyone at Pentacor participates equally, and no one is obligated to “want” to give feedback to every person or offer themselves as an observer. The key is that no one should avoid the process, but everyone should volunteer for both roles at least twice a year.
Ground Rules for Giving Feedback
Authenticity is key for both sides in the feedback conversation, especially for those giving feedback.
We speak about ourselves, not secondhand opinions or hearsay. After all, we’re sharing our personal perception of the person receiving feedback. And we want to communicate that perception objectively, without assuming too much about the background. The reasons behind the actions of the person receiving feedback are best known to them, and how they address and respond to the feedback is up to them. The feedback we give should also be factual. We don’t want to judge the other person’s behavior. This is part of treating each other with respect.
Also important: when offering criticism and suggestions for improvement, we focus on things that can actually be changed. To make it easier for the other person to understand and act on the feedback or criticism, we try to describe with examples when or how we noticed the points being addressed.
Ground Rules for Feedback Recipients
While the feedback-giver is sharing their feedback, the recipient’s role is to listen first (even if it’s hard). It’s all about authentic, active listening—and yes, sometimes that takes practice. In a way, these feedback conversations also serve as communication training and real work, definitely not a walk in the park!
When we receive feedback, it’s important to be ready to listen in the first place. This should be the easiest part, since we’ve chosen the person we want to get feedback from. We should be open to accepting their perception and ask questions to ensure we’re really understanding it.
Accepting feedback also means not arguing or offering counterarguments. No solutions are needed. Thoughts should stay still, and the feedback-giver shouldn’t be judged or interrupted. This means staying quiet during pauses in the conversation and waiting until the other person has truly finished speaking—not just taking a moment to think or formulate the next sentence. We try to “simply” absorb what’s being said and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.
We want to understand the message as it was intended. A helpful technique is to repeat or paraphrase what was said and ask if it was understood correctly.
Content of a Feedback Conversation
The process and the “thinking time” required to “apply” for participation in a feedback conversation means that we usually take time to reflect on the other person and the question, “Can or do I want to give them feedback or advice?” It’s not uncommon for the feedback-giver to come to the meeting with prepared notes. You can easily spot the role distribution during the walk.
So, what aspects might be included in those notes? What things could I reflect on to decide if I can or want to give feedback?
Let’s take Kyra, our Feelgood dog, as the feedback recipient:
- Can you remember your first encounter with Kyra or your first impression of her?
- Where do you encounter Kyra at work?
- How do you perceive Kyra within the entire Pentacor team? (e.g., cross-team meetings, retrospectives, Lean Coffee, etc.)
- How do you perceive Kyra in specific collaboration/communication contexts? (e.g., customer projects or working together on internal matters)
- Are there any memories of encounters where Kyra particularly stood out to you (in a positive way)?
- Have you ever been surprised or upset by Kyra’s behavior or a remark she made?
- What qualities make Kyra’s presence pleasant for you in the workplace or in communication?
- What do you appreciate about Kyra as part of the Pentacor team? What value does she bring, in your view?
- How has your perception of Kyra changed over time?
- Would you like to thank her for something?
You might indeed meet us (more often) on walks with Kyra. For obvious reasons, however, these are in most cases not feedback conversations. Multiple times a day would really be a lot of input. For the usual process, as mentioned, two sessions a year are more than enough. Additionally, there are 1:1 meetings with team leads that can also be used for feedback—and these can also take place as a walk.
Customer and project meetings, on the other hand, are typically not walks. In those cases, we prefer working at the desk. However, if anyone misses walking during those times, feel free to use our treadmill!
