Back to Basics: Feedback

There is a common misconception from both managers and employees alike that feedback in generally a "telling off" and can therefore be an uncomfortable subject for both parties. This is certainly not the case and I'm going to try to dispel that myth. Feedback actually comes in two forms. Positive (affirming) and negative (adjusting) feedback and should be delivered in exactly the same way. Delivery should be short, casual but specific.  There should also be no ambiguity or misunderstanding of the message contained within that feedback. 

So how do we deliver effective feedback?

1. Ask before providing feedback

For feedback to be effective, the recipient needs to be in a receptive state. If the recipient of the feedback is currently under pressure to meet a deadline, now might not be the best time to deliver it. If when you ask they say no, respect that and tell them you'll catch them later.

2. Be emotionally neutral when providing feedback
The way positive and negative feedback is delivered should be identical. Which it is you are giving is derived from the content. There is no point giving angry feedback as that doesn't encourage a change in behaviour. Angry feedback will simply result in the same behaviour as before but covered up better next time so they don't get into trouble again.

3. Be specific
Explain very clearly the behaviour it is you wish to encourage or discourage. Tell them exactly what it was they did and what the result of that behaviour was.  A simple "Good job" isn't feedback. That's praise and it doesn't encourage affirmation or adjustment of a behaviour because it doesn't identify what the behaviour was in the first place.

4. Finish with an acceptance from them
This is your assurance that the feedback you delivered was understood. In the case of negative feedback, a simple "can you work on that?" prompting a "yes" or "no" response is all you need. If you find that things are not improving and you are still having to continually provide the same feedback, try requesting they own the solution by asking "what can you do about that?". This way, they will need to demonstrate they understand the problem with the behaviour and think of a suitable course of action.

That's it. Four simple steps for delivering effective feedback. We can further maximise the effectiveness of the above model by also considering the following..

Give positive feedback regularly

The most effective way to maintain or improve performance is to provide positive feedback when it is due. This will affirm what is expected of them and result in the continued repetition of that behaviour. Regular positive feedback will also help prevent resentment for the mechanism setting in when you have to use it to provide negative feedback.

Give feedback as close to its catalyst as possible

Relevance is important so the longer you wait, the less effective feedback becomes. This is especially crucial for negative feedback. Don't wait for multiple instances of the same poor behaviour to manifest. Provide feedback early on and prevent the behaviour growing into something larger. If you don't, you risk your direct wondering if you wanted them to fail and that isn't healthy for your relationship with them.

My only caveat to this however is when a negative behaviour was caused though emotion, e.g. your direct sent out a poorly worded angry email. In a case such as this, wait for this emotion to dissipate before attempting to provide feedback on it.