In this interview, Sabine Moudilou, Manager Portal UI/UX, who has advanced her professional development at SupplyOn through openness and targeted feedback, shares her valuable experience and tips on feedback and self-development. Find out how constructive feedback can help you achieve your professional goals.
Can you briefly outline your career at SupplyOn and describe what feedback means to you personally?
Sabine: Sure, of course. I started at SupplyOn in 2016 as a working student. After graduating from university, I supported our customers as a consultant with the implementation of our SCC solutions. I then moved to the Supplier Onboarding team and took on my first team lead position. For about three years now, I have been working as a Manager in Product Development at SRM & Portal, supporting UX Designers, Product Managers and Product Experts in their daily work.
Feedback has always been incredibly important to me. I am open to feedback and also like to give timely feedback myself. I see it as an opportunity to learn and develop. The feedback I received from my colleagues was particularly valuable because I was able to learn from great experts in their fields. This helped me enormously, especially at the beginning of my career.
What strategies have you used to get constructive feedback from colleagues and managers? Are there any specific methods you would recommend?
Sabine: I try to actively seek feedback, be it after presentations or in preparation for important meetings. I often ask directly what they think of my work, whether I have conveyed the content clearly and what I could improve. I find it particularly important to explicitly ask for feedback at the end of the year, independently of formal target agreement meetings. This gives me the opportunity to reflect comprehensively on my achievements and challenges of the year.
Last year, I initiated 360-degree feedback for myself. I asked around 35 colleagues from various departments and hierarchy levels for their anonymous feedback. At the time, I had moved into my new position and wanted to make sure that I was heading in the right direction in the way I was living this role.
It was an exciting experience and really helped me to get different perspectives. It was not only valuable for my professional development, but also very appreciative for me personally. Once again, it showed the good collegiality at SupplyOn, because my colleagues invested a lot of time and effort in my assessment, for which I am very grateful.
I find joint reflection and the broadening of perspectives and perceptions extremely valuable. I also give my manager feedback relatively often, for example on my perception of presentations, events or meetings. Our regular weekly jour fixe meetings in particular provide an opportunity to give structured feedback.
These perceptions and reflections are very well received. Of course, feedback can also be spontaneous, for example directly after a successful presentation. However, in my opinion, the key to high-quality feedback is good preparation. If feedback is well thought out and prepared, it is particularly helpful.
How do you personally deal with feedback from colleagues and managers, especially when it is critical or challenging?
Sabine: First of all, listening is essential for me. I try to really understand the feedback and if it’s difficult, I sleep on it. Then I talk to the person again to clarify any ambiguities. Sometimes I also discuss the feedback with other colleagues to get a second opinion and better understand it.
Can you give an example of how you were able to grow based on specific feedback?
Sabine: One specific example is my current position in the product area. I was open to new opportunities. But without the recommendations and feedback from my colleagues and managers regarding my strengths, for example, I wouldn’t have had the idea of applying for this position in a specialist area that was still foreign to me.
I saw the feedback to develop myself in this position as an opportunity to develop further. The new position has been a great learning curve and I am grateful for the opportunity to think outside the box and prove myself in a new area.
What advice would you give to people who are afraid to ask for feedback because they feel vulnerable?
Sabine: I understand this fear very well. Getting feedback takes courage, but it’s a valuable opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and grow. It helps to trust that most colleagues want to give honest and constructive feedback to be supportive. It also shows that you really want to develop.
Good preparation for feedback meetings can also provide additional reassurance. The more often you ask for feedback, the more courageous you become in the process. I recommend using the projects and initiatives of the past year as a guide when asking for feedback if you are unsure.
Reflect on the challenges you faced, as well as your successes and moments of happiness. Where did you get stuck, where did you reach your limits, but where did you surpass yourself? Think about specific questions that you want to ask in order to receive targeted and helpful feedback.
It can also be helpful to obtain feedback outside of the regular goal-setting meetings, for example through 360-degree feedback. This not only shows your willingness to develop yourself, but also strengthens teamwork.
For your own career development, I can only recommend that you listen to how others see you and how they assess your strengths. I would be delighted if my experience report helps you to deal with feedback more courageously, to dare to ask for it and to advance your own career.
