When you give your colleagues and employees feedback, you give them an observer’s insight into how their performance is progressing.
But as valuable as feedback is, it often fills both the immediate supervisor and the employee receiving it with fear and anxiety. Many managers dread giving their team feedback because they hate being the one to deliver bad news or dampen the otherwise fun and energetic mood of the office.
Business coaches see it all too often; leaders who dislike giving feedback to avoid seeming superior and the receiver of the feedback switching into defensive mode.
Giving and receiving is a delicate process, but it is an entirely necessary one. Without it, behaviors cannot be molded, and learning will not be fostered, leading to a lack of growth in performance and personal and professional development.
What can managers do to improve their process of giving feedback?
How Can You Make Giving Feedback a Continual Process?
Making feedback a continual process involves regularly giving it when the need arises, rather than only in formal, infrequent settings. This approach helps both parties become accustomed to the process, fostering a habit of immediate positive feedback to maintain momentum and address negative behaviors promptly to prevent them from escalating or being perceived as acceptable.
When you give feedback when the need for it arises, it starts to become a habit. Positive feedback needs to be said and heard immediately, otherwise, you lose the momentum, and the employee who is performing well will think that their efforts have gone unnoticed and unappreciated.
And if you avoid giving negative feedback for too long, the employee may question the timing and feel defensive. You also risk the bad behavior snowballing especially if the employee starts to think that their actions are acceptable because it wasn’t addressed right away.
Why Should You Start Feedback With Business Outcomes?
You should start feedback with business outcomes to keep the conversation objective and focused on performance rather than personalizing the issue. This involves asking for the individual's perspective on the situation and emphasizing how their actions impact the business, rather than reacting emotionally or focusing on perceived character flaws.
How Can You Be Positive Yet Specific When Giving Feedback?
To be positive yet specific when giving feedback, ensure corrective feedback is delivered constructively, always ending with a suggested solution or next course of action to guide improvement. Additionally, always make feedback specific and fact-based to prevent misinterpretation and reduce defensiveness, rather than being vague or ambiguous.
Furthermore, feedback should always be specific. Vague and ambiguous feedback can easily be misinterpreted and worsen the situation. It also lessens how defensive the employee feels when they know that the detailed feedback directed to them was based on facts.
Why Is It Important to Follow Through After Giving Feedback?
It is important to follow through after giving feedback because simply delivering feedback without subsequent support increases the likelihood of repeat issues or the feedback being forgotten. Since feedback is a continuous process, following up allows you to assess if ongoing support is needed and to observe any positive changes that have occurred.
Because giving feedback is a process, you need to follow-through after a while and see if your ongoing support is needed or if there have been any positive changes.
Why Is It Important to Get Feedback on Your Feedback?
It is important to get feedback on your feedback because it allows managers to learn and be coached by their team, fostering mutual development. At the end of a feedback session, you should ask employees how they felt about the conversation and encourage honest opinions on your approach and delivery to improve your feedback process.
Speaking of feedback, I would love to hear yours. Did you find value in this blog?
If you have time, let’s jump on a call to brainstorm some strategic leadership concepts you may be unfamiliar with…I think you might be pleasantly surprised! Then, without obligation, we can consider if working together would be beneficial.
If that sounds good, you can use this link to schedule a time convenient to you for us to chat: https://meetme.so/GregNichvalodoff I look forward to furthering our connection and learning more about you and your business.
