Don’t leave them guessing ~ How and why to give effective feedback

People won't get great at what they do unless you are prepared to give them regular feedback.  Good feedback is highly motivational, developmental and most of all beneficial to the bottom-line. 

Not only is it important for people in your team, it is key for anyone who supports your business - be they suppliers, consultants, professional bodies, temporary staff, remote workers.  We either take for granted valuable contributions, or we put up with poor performance or service in the misguided belief that it will right itself.

However, feedback can be badly received when it's: too generalised, too personal, based on something which is not within their power to do anything about, over critical, focused exclusively on the distant past, based on hearsay and gossip, an excuse to seek blame.

But what if the feedback you give is so accurate that it can't be challenged?

One way to do avoid these pitfalls is to use a very simple model: AID

Action  What is the action they performed?  Emphasis is on their actions, not on your interpretation of it.  So you are feeding back what you observed or heard, not on their intentions, their personality or their character.  Limit the number of actions you comment on to a level they can handle - far better to give feedback on one key action that they can digest and build on to make a difference, than ten things which leaves the message diluted (and invariably leaves them demotivated).  Because this is based on fact it is less likely to be challenged.  (This does not mean you won't get excuses!)

Impact  What impact did their actions have on the result?  This can include positive or negative impact on the end result, or on the process itself e.g. the amount of effort needed on their part to achieve the result, or the impact on others, etc.  Note here that we could also be feeding back on things that went well.  It is so easy to say to someone 'that was really good, well done' without saying why it was good or what made the difference this time compared to previous occasions.

Development  How can they build on this for the future?  Remember, the purpose of feedback is to enhance performance and motivate.  So this last stage is important to determine what happens next e.g. develop to make it even better next time around, to correct a mistake or to perfect a process.  Build on strengths or positives to maintain enthusiasm. Using open questions, ask the individual how they think things can be developed or built upon.  This will help to gain buy in and you may be surprised by the options they suggest. 

This model works equally well for situations when someone's performance has been good as well as when you would want or expect something better. 

‘If they can argue with it – it’s poor feedback’

Given in a constructive way feedback can not only improve performance but can raise morale, build rapport and promote initiative. 

Caroline runs Zeal Coaching and she will be speaking on Motivating your team at the Grow Your Business event on 13^th May.  To subscribe to her newsletter visit www.zealcoaching.com