Being a leader entails being an enabler: enabling others to bring out the best in them. Letting people know when things are working – and when they are not - is key to this. Yet, giving feedback can be challenging, as it is quite different from a normal scientific conversation. The workshop “Leading through Feedback” covered theoretical background, practical recipes and hands-on training on how to effectively provide feedback. By means of various role plays the hands-on training addressed actual – but of course anonymized - examples from the research groups of the eight participants.

We jumped right into the topic and started the day with a mock interview: one of the participants took on the role of a group leader, and a second one the role of a student having trouble with his/her work. The other participants observed the interview, and the “student” and the larger group then gave feedback to the “group leader”. This feedback proved quite insightful, and was used in several repetitions of the mock interview. We then discussed the importance of providing feedback in the context of everyday work (not just as part of annual review meetings), and in a constructive and specific manner that emphasizes the search for solutions without offering, or directing, them. We also learned a four-step guideline for a brief feedback conversation that we tried out in groups of two. The workshop was held in the “räume” seminar rooms located in the Hardtwald north of the Karlsruhe Palace. This provided a focused and quiet setting away from the everyday hectic of campus, including a stroll through the forest after lunch that allowed for additional discussion and exchange.