Morten Melby is taking a
BSc in Mechanical Engineering; he is also a reserve officer in the Danish armed forces. Through his company Feedwork, he strives to use his experience from the latter to improve the former.
Morten Melby and Mikkel Norqvist met in the Danish armed forces, when they were both training as officers in the reserve. They then went their separate ways; Mikkel qualified as a coach and has worked as a store manager and sales trainer for the Swedish sports chain Stadium, while Morten has recently completed the fourth term of his studies in Mechanical Engineering at DTU. In addition, they have combined their armed forces experience to set up the new consultancy company: Feedwork.
“One day, I gave Mikkel a call to vent my frustration over a feedback meeting that had run completely off the rails,” relates Morten Melby.
“As the conversation progressed, we found ourselves talking in more general terms about feedback. If only people had learned what we were taught in the armed forces about how to interact with one another, everyone would take much more away from evaluations of this kind. All of a sudden, we realized that we could apply the knowledge we possessed in many other areas.”
Mikkel: “Whenever you’re on exercise in the armed forces, there’s always someone looking over your shoulder. It might sound a bit unpleasant, but they’re not looking for errors, only areas where you can improve. We’re inspired by this idea of a space where people actively act on their observations.”
Morten: “It’s about convincing people to step outside their comfort zone and dare to give and receive feedback. One of our points of emphasis is that you should only say something that will help the other person develop—and refrain from saying things intended purely to highlight your own qualities.”
Mikkel and Morten have now applied these ideas in practice in the form of a company: Feedwork. Their first projects include working with a team from the Station Next film academy and participating in a mentoring project under the auspices of Ungdommens Røde Kors (Danish Red Cross Youth Organization). This September, they will be running their first seven-day programme as feedback facilitators. They have also got in touch with LearningLab DTU.
“DTU is a pioneering university; they have made much more progress than most others in the field of formalized feedback and peer reviews, where students assess each other’s assignments. However, we’re sure that applying clear guidelines for how to structure feedback will help generate a much better return on these exercises. And that is precisely what Feedback can deliver,” emphasizes Morten.