Team members may be hesitant to speak due to influence of ‘strong personalities’ – CEO Jonathan Shaw

Retail Marketing Ltd CEO Jonathan Shaw on Monday highlighted the value of anonymous feedback during discussions, as certain team members may feel hesitant to speak up about certain issues.

This came in a social media post shared on Monday, where he felt a “renewed sense of energy” following an off-site session with the company’s core team on Friday. During the session, he put on his “coaching hat” to revisit one of his favourite team activities, the “achieving breakthrough” session.

“It was a great experience as the various Heads of Departments and Managers actively participated, resulting in a fantastic outcome,” he said.

However, Mr Shaw noted that what “made it special” was the “collaborative spirit that prevailed” as the various team members explored what was working well within the team, as well as the areas it can “enhance and improve upon”. Various insightful suggestions emerged, each being shared on sticky notes, and then “meticulously organised” into six distinct priorities, each accompanied by various sub-points and actionable steps.

While he “strongly values free discussion and sharing open ideas”, Mr Shaw also finds the concept of anonymous feedback through sticky notes as valuable for a number of reasons.

“At times, team members may be hesitant to speak up about issues, whether it’s due to shyness or fear of retaliation. Additionally, team dynamics such as group-think or the influence of strong personalities can also hinder open and honest feedback or also lead the topic according to their own agenda,” he explained.

In addition to this, “feedback cannot be traced back to individuals”, and so it is easier for team members to speak out “even though it always transpires that team members have no issue in openly elaborating further as needed in discussion”.

“Moving forward; now, it’s time to turn these plans into action, to walk the talk, and make our collective vision a reality for Welbee’s Supermarkets,” he concluded.

Mr Shaw has been CEO of Retail Marketing Ltd for more than a year, having previously served as the retail company’s Executive Chairman. The company owns and operates the Welbee’s supermarket chain, which is comprised of what were previously Park Towers, Valyou Tower, and Trolees supermarkets. He describes himself as having a “hands-on multidisciplinary approach” in leading organisations with a “people-centric focus”.