Feedback is free education for excellence.
Seek it with sincerity and receive it with grace.
Ann Marie Houghtailing
Communication feedback skills are called functional skills or transferable skills. They are considered universal and not dependent on position, department, or job description. You can develop and refine them in your dayto-day activities and transfer them to the workplace, or vice versa.
Sometimes you learn them in leadership training and transfer them to your personal life. Sometimes, it is easier to practice them in your personal life and transfer them to your professional life. Either way, recognize that these are life-long skills and involve continuous learning and refinement.
The bridge between knowledge and skill is practice.
Anonymous
APPLY:
Set the intention to improve feedback skills until they are natural, comfortable, automatic and highly effective.
Plan and practice practice practice.
The three most common types of feedback for leaders are:
Response, Recognition, and Redirection
Response can be a simple “I heard you” activity.
Recognition is positive feedback to recognize positive performance.
Redirection is improvement feedback to change a performance behavior.
REFLECT:
What kind of feedback do you give most often?
When? Where? To Whom? About What?
How is this serving your purpose?
What kind of feedback do you receive most often?
When? Where? From Whom? About What?
How is this serving your purpose?
Response Feedback
Response feedback is simply responding to a person who says / writes / does something. It can be as simple as acknowledging someone who said hello while you are focused on your cell, to letting someone know you received their email with a lengthy report for your review.
What?
When?
Response Feedback
Immediately if possible, such as looking up from the cell to nod / speak in return.
If you can’t respond right away, give the reason for the delay with the expected time for connecting.
“Thanks for sharing your ideas for improving the Zoom meetings. I appreciate your thinking this through and putting your thoughts down for me. I’ll have time to reflect on them next week.
What’s a good time to discuss them late next week?”
How?
Any way that responds in kind. A nod in person, an emoji for a text, a bounce back for an email, a formal response for a formal communication…
Where?
In context with the message to you.
Recognition Feedback
Recognition feedback is simply providing positive recognition for a task / job / project well done. It can be as simple as saying thank you or as formal as a letter of recommendation. Be as specific as possible, and add warmth when possible.
Gratitude and appreciation are KEY to making others feel recognized, valued and acknowledged. This can be extremely motivating. A bonus is that it helps establish trust in you as a leader who values and understands others’
contributions.
What?
When?
Recognition Feedback
Immediately if possible. If it’s to an individual , you can give it to them solo and then repeat it in a group meeting.
If it’s to a team, you can give it in a team setting and follow up with email or vice versa.
You can’t give too much positive feedback!!! (see the blog on Organizational Change – Pareto).
How?
Specifically to the situation.
“Your report was accurate and helpful. Thanks for the time and effort to put it together. I wasn’t able to read it until today, and it was a highlight in my hectic schedule.”
Where?
In public, if possible, to share the good deeds / actions / outcomes with others.
“Wow, what a day. We vaccinated 1,397 people today.
You were all awesome in getting more people immunized.”
Redirection Feedback
Redirection feedback is simply providing information on what can be improved. It is NOT criticism. It is a form of support for improvement. Done effectively, it is one of the highest levels of leadership.
What?
Redirection Feedback
This may require practice. I have created a protocol for planning and delivering it professionally (see the blog of Feedback: Redirection).
When?
As soon as possible.
For a minor correction, on the spot is best, if it can be done privately.
For a significant correction, schedule a time at the end of the day so the employee can leave / end the work day immediately after the feedback and process it overnight. For documented performance issues, as soon as possible after careful planning.
How?
See the blog on Feedback – Redirection
Where?
In private, unless your are involving team members in assessing / improving team performance.
An inclusive culture-changing way to start new feedback patterns is to involve followers in creating improved feedback behaviors. For instance, you can brainstorm ways to provide feedback and determine how each person likes to receive it. One team agreed to surprise positive performance team members by tying a balloon to their desk, and to signal need for improvement by “sliming” — putting a “slime” green iced cupcake on their desk.
Both carried the same message: we are a team and recognize and support each other in all situations. We’re here to work together to be the best we can be.
APPLY:
The first step in giving feedback is to ask, “What do I want to accomplish with this feedback? Motivate? Improve morale? Build trust? Improve performance?
Provide a pathway to growth? Build a team culture? Or…?
With your desired outcome in mind, plan the feedback including these points:
*a clear statement of what you want to accomplish
*the importance of the outcome
*the consequences for not achieving the outcome
* the follow-up plan if needed
With the feedback outcome clarified, ask yourself:
*is the feedback necessary?
*is it honest?
*is it helpful?
*is it fair and consistent? (have I treated everyone the same on this issue?)
*is it from an assertive stance, not frustrated, aggressive, angry, etc.?
*what responses can I expect?
Then Practice, Practice, Practice
