Would you like to help someone improve? Providing feedback, when done effectively, allows the person receiving the information to improve their performance. When done incorrectly, it may be ignored, it may be discouraging, and it can even damage the relationship between the giver and the receiver of the feedback.
Giving feedback is providing information about how someone is doing in terms of reaching a goal. It is a fine balancing act between providing criticism so the receiver can improve their performance but also being positive to keep them motivated. Some people use the excuse of giving feedback to put other people down or pat their own egos. Also, no one likes being told that they are not perfect. Therefore, there is a natural resistance to receiving feedback. The receiver will ask themselves, are they genuinely trying to help me improve or are they just putting me down? The way to overcome this natural resistance is by providing effective feedback. Effective feedback allows the receiver to take in the information and action it. It has the following characteristics.
- Positive
- Specific
- Actionable
- Goal-focused
- Personable
- Timely
Positive
Feedback that has a negative tone or leaves the receiver with a negative feeling will most likely be ignored or actioned unwillingly. By being positive you build trust. How to keep feedback positive when we have to tell them to improve? In general, what people remember most about any experience is what happened first and in particular what happened last. When giving feedback, it is a good idea to start by saying something positive, then mention areas of improvement, and finish on a positive note. This is known as the sandwich technique. Think “PIP” which stands for positive, improvement, and positive. The positive aspect can be mentioning something they did well or a comment on their potential to improve. The feedback should also help the receiver build on strengths and not just to try to fix weaknesses. After receiving feedback, they have to walk with their chin up, not with their chin down.
Specific
For feedback to be effective it has to be specific. It is not enough to say “Your performance can be improved”. What specifically did they do well? What in particular they need to improve? Same with the positive comments. People are smart, if you just say positive comments not to bruise their egos, they will realise your intention. You must really find something specific that they did well. Something that you liked about their performance.
If you are going to remember only two characteristics of effective feedback, remember these two: positive and specific.
Actionable
The goal of effective feedback is to provide information to improve performance in reaching a goal. Therefore, the information should be actionable, something specific they can do to improve their performance. It is not just highlighting that something needs to be improved, it is about providing suggestions or potential solutions on how to improve it. “Your introduction needs to be improved” is not directly actionable, but “mention your main message in the introduction” is actionable.
For the feedback to be actionable it needs to be understood by the receiver, it has to be clear and specific. If you are highly skilled at something and you are giving feedback to a novice, provide that feedback in a way that they can understand. For the feedback to be clear, it has to be consistent. Two feedback points that are contradictory will leave the receiver confused as to what to do.
In addition, feedback has to be measured to be actionable. The number of improvements should be between one and three things to do. More than that will be overwhelming and the receiver won’t know what to do first. Ask someone to change 12 things about their appearance. They will be overwhelmed. Ask them to change two things about their appearance, when they finish ask them to change another two things and repeat six times. In the end, they will have changed 12 things without being overwhelmed.
Goal-Focused
Effective feedback is all about helping someone achieve a goal, focus on that goal and not on the person. “You are disorganised” is person-focused. “To improve your efficiency you could organise your files according to topic” is issue- or goal-focused. Feedback is not a judgment on the person, it is a description of what can be done to improve. One way to check for this is to mix “I”, your reaction, together with “you”. If your feedback has a lot of “you” and no or little “I” may come across as judgmental. “I feel you could improve your efficiency by organising your files” has the element of your own reaction which is what feedback is all about, your reaction to performance and your opinion of how it can be improved.
For feedback to be goal-focused, the actions leading to improvements should have tangible results. Something that can be measured. Feedback on hitting a tennis ball more accurately should lead to higher rates of good hits and to more points in a tennis match.
Personable
“Speak from the heart and people will listen” is a common saying. If your feedback comes across as a genuine effort to help, it will be well-received. By being honest and using a conversational tone as opposed to a condescending tone. One-on-one in person also makes it more personable. The tone should be inquisitive rather than forceful, this means asking questions to elicit answers rather than telling people what to do. Allow them to come to their own conclusions. Evidence-based feedback will be more acceptable than authority-based feedback. “Do this because I say so and I’m the master” doesn’t suit well these days.
Timely
The closer the feedback is given after the action is performed, the better. Immediate and continuous feedback leads to fast and continuous improvement. Catch people doing something good and immediately tell them “Well done!” this will improve morale and will make them more receptive to feedback for improvement later on.
Receiving Feedback
Knowing how to receive feedback is as important as knowing how to give it. In order to receive feedback effectively one must have a growth mindset, which means taking responsibility for our actions, learning from mistakes, and striving to improve continuously. This growth mindset usually leads to receiving feedback in the following way:
- Being open to feedback by listening actively
- Asking questions to clarify any points
- Showing appreciation for the feedback
- Reflecting and learning from feedback
- Incorporating the feedback to improve next time
In addition, use your judgment to distinguish what is useful and you will action from the feedback, and what you may not agree or will not action.
Giving and receiving feedback effectively comes with practice. When giving feedback be positive and specific, and make your recommendations actionable, goal-focused, personable, and timely. When receiving feedback have a growth mindset and use your judgment to incorporate feedback.
Make an impact,
Pablo
PS: let me know what you think either on social media or by email.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.