Estimated time to read is 15 minutes
Effective feedback, both positive and negative, is very helpful. Feedback is valuable information that can be used to make important decisions. Top performing people and companies are top performing because they consistently search for ways to make their best even better. For top performers ‘continuous improvement’ is not just a showy catchphrase. It’s a true focus based on feedback from across the entire organization – customers, clients, employees, suppliers, vendors, and stakeholders. Top performers are not only good at accepting feedback, they deliberately ask for feedback. And they know that feedback is helpful only when it highlights weaknesses as well as strengths
It can be really hard to give and receive feedback effectively -- we’re human. When giving feedback it is best to be:
Timely
Don’t wait too long to provide feedback.
Specific
Provide clear, detailed examples of what you observed (behavior & impact).
Actionable
Feedback should produce both learning and tangible results.
Receiving feedback provides an opportunity for us to grow and become a role model.
Demonstrate desired behaviors
When we make providing feedback safe for others, they are more likely to continue providing it to you and others.
Request feedback
Receiving feedback doesn’t need to be a passive act -- proactively seek it out and include people who may have different points of view.
Follow Up
If someone’s feedback helped you to have a bigger impact as you applied it, let them know!
Roadblocks to giving feedback
Feelings are scary (ours and others) —————————— so we avoid feedback Humans aren’t predictable (or they are!) ————————-so we muddy our message We’re moving too fast ———————————————— so we default to generic praise
Useful feedback is a gift. Doing it in a way that grows someone’s self-awareness without denting their self-esteem is a valuable and learned skill. There’s an art to it!
Here are 10 ways to give feedback well. Even if you just try a few, your feedback will likely be more effective.
Critique the behavior not the person.
Shows you value the employee as a person despite not valuing a specific behavior and helps create a growth mindset instead of a fix-it mindset in the employee. e.g. “I’ve noticed how patient you are, so I was surprised when you snapped at Bill.”.