How to Give Honest Feedback That Drives High Performance! 🚀

Micro-Learning Session - Delivering Feedback

You've seen something you don't like but haven't fed this back to your team!

Or perhaps you have secret expectations for your team but don't tell them?

How can you expect them to improve if they don't know?

Most managers either:

A. Give ineffective feedback

B. Shy away from giving feedback

C. Or deliver the feedback in a manner that damages the relationship

Knowing how to deliver feedback so that it lands is arguably the most important skill of any manager.

Delivering Constructive or Negative Feedback

Bad news doesn’t get better with time...

Act on feedback quickly once you have found an appropriate moment via one of your 1-1s.

Always document and time stamp your negative feedback for HR purposes in case you need it later.

1. Situation

Begin by objectively stating the specific situation where you observed the undesired behaviour. Be specific about the time and place. - Example: "During our team meeting last Tuesday..."

2. Observed Factual Behavior

Detail it factually without emotion or inserting your own judgments or assumptions. - Example: "... I noticed that you interrupted colleagues several times while they were speaking..."

3. Impact

Explain the effect of the behaviour on “them personally” not you, the team, the project, or the organization.

Understand their Career goals and ambitions and link the feedback to these where possible. Example: "... your interruptions might have potentially overshadowed the valuable input you had to share and could be perceived as disrespectful by your peers, which might affect how your contributions and teamwork are viewed in the future.”

4. Pause

Allow a moment for them to reflect on the feedback and digest what you have said.

5. Be curious - Ask open-ended and probing questions

• Why was that the case?

• Was there a reason behind this behaviour?

• Do you see it as an issue?

• Is everything ok?

• Do they think it's important to improve?

• Do they have ideas for corrective action?

• How can you support them in taking action?

6. Set Expectations

Agree on what you would like to see and when you should check back in on their progress.

7. Support Them

Use Coaching to help them change their behaviour.

Delivering Positive Feedback

Everyone likes to be told that they did a good job when they genuinely did a good job.

And the best part is it costs you nothing.

Be generous and frequent with praise when they do a good job.

A key question to ask - Do they want the feedback in public or private?

Some people are more introverted and dislike public praise and would like it in a 1-1 rather than a group setting.

When you give genuine positive feedback frequently it motivates them and prevents negative feedback from souring the relationship.

Sharing positive feedback can increase team members' motivation and drive.

The Magic Ratio: Positive Feedback to Criticism

Psychologist Dr John Gottmann found during his research that the Magic ratio of positive feedback to criticism for thriving relationships was 5:1.

Thriving relationships require five positive exchanges for every negative one.

Applying this ratio can enhance team dynamics, morale, and productivity by ensuring that positive feedback and interactions significantly outnumber criticisms or negative comments.