Hearing what other people think about your performance shouldn’t feel intimidating, but it often does. Why? Often because managers, leaders, and peers approach it in an unstructured way. Feedback is wrongly associated with pointing out everything you did wrong with no end goal in sight; a slap on the wrist and a ‘Don’t do it again!’
But this isn’t very productive, is it? And it certainly isn’t how we would define feedback… Real feedback provides a path for development as our favourite saying goes, feedback is for the future!
The idea of receiving and giving feedback shouldn’t spike your heart rate. If it does: sit down, have a Kit Kat, and read this article.
What we’re going to cover:
How Do You Define Feedback?
Feedback provides people with specific, valuable insights into their performance, behaviour, and impact. It should guide individuals on what they they need to change or integrate into their performance to do better. Feedback requires timeliness, emotion, context, and collaboration to be truly effective. It should be seen as an open and collaborative activity for managers, teams, and employees to take part in.
The purpose of feedback is to continue the good things and change the behaviours which hold the individual or organisation back. Great feedback is a critical element of best-practice performance management, and offers a roadmap for future growth.
Praise vs Feedback
The crap, cough, FEEDBACK SANDWICH is a formula for those who are afraid of difficult conversations. Otherwise known as the ‘praise me, kick me, praise me’ feedback model, this ineffective model only saves
When you package feedback up in a lump of half-hearted praise, without bringing to light specific behaviours which are holding the individual or actionable advice on how to move forward: there is no clear message in your aim to provide feedback. This only serves the
Praise if for the past, feedback is for the future.
How to Structure Feedback
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”– Ken Blanchard
Feedback is a dish best served often and well… Taking feedback can be a disorientating experience if it comes out of the blue. That’s why timeliness and the way that you present your observations should be presented with clarity of feeling and expectation.
Before you provide feedback ask yourself these questions to determine whether it’s actually appropriate:
- Were there any negative consequences due to the individuals behaviour and actions?
- Are you providing feedback with the intention to either MOTIVATE or DEVELOP the individual with a future goal in mind?
- Are you leading with your opinion?
Now that you know that feedback is warranted, and you have the best intentions at heart, it’s time to structure your perspective. Below is the ‘A, B, C, D‘ model (Ask, Behaviour, Consequence, & Discuss) which many of our consultants at DCo use and recommend. This model ensures clarity and collaboration in the giving or receiving of feedback.
Below, the model has been broken down into six simple actions and rules which build from the ‘Ask, Behaviour, Consequence, and Discuss’ framework.
- Ask if they have five minutes to spare for feedback before you jump in to grab their attention and approach respectfully.
- Don’t lead with your opinion as you will come across judgemental.
- Begin with recalling specific examples of behaviour which had a direct effect on the outcome of the situation.
- Provide feedback in a timely manner as it will make it easier to refer to specific behaviours or actions.
- Define the consequences that became a result of their behaviour (example: people weren’t listening, audience wasn’t engaged, they missed an opportunity because they weren’t putting in enough effort).
- Finally, discuss what actions they can take to develop the behaviours which need to change. Ask them if there is anything that you can do to help them implement this strategy.
If you’re providing motivational feedback, behaviours don’t necessarily have to change but become fine-tuned. In this situation, you should be able to provide perspective or guidance to the individual on how they can achieve this.
How To Take Feedback: Proactivity vs Reactivity
There is no such thing as positive or negative feedback. There is only motivational or developmental feedback. Feedback should be given always to ensure future development, avoiding failure or stagnancy. Unfortunately, it can be hard to have our mistakes pointed out to us but it is also necessary for continuous development.
What needs to change is our perspective on both giving and receiving it. Being proactive puts you behind the steering wheel since we always have a choice in the way that we react to feedback. Here are some perspective pointers if you’re still unsure:
- Feedback funnels you towards a more developed, clear sense of destination.
- It strengthens what we do right and corrects what we don’t get right.
- Feedback provides a perspective that we are unable to see, giving clarity on why we keep getting the same results from specific behaviours and actions.
- Whether you agree with the feedback given or not, a reactive response will only create an unneeded argument and future resentment.
Taking a proactive approach gives you control over your situation, allowing you to take on-board ideas and adjustments that are suggested to you and discard those which don’t really apply.
Finally, if you haven’t received feedback in a while, we challenge you to approach a manager or trusted peer and ask them if they have five minutes to provide you with some. This can be a fun exercise as often people learn more about themselves than they expect to!
