His feedback and encouragement were instrumental in my quest to find the better leader in me. Joel should be a member of every executive’s personal board of advisors!”
Henry J. Sacco, Chief Legal Officer, BROTHER INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Employees want feedback. They want an honest assessment of their behavior to help them improve their work. They know that if they listen to, and take action on, clear and constructive feedback, their overall performance will improve. Successful employee retention and promotion will result, and so will overall job satisfaction.
Your employees know that feedback is central to talent development and advancement.
However, most managers feel uncomfortable delivering feedback, especially when it involves a problem or concern. So many managers take a passive approach or are guilty of knee-jerk, “drive by” feedback, which can be counterproductive. Providing feedback that gets results isn’t as difficult or painful as you think. Listed below are ten tips to make it a powerful, positive experience that motivates your people to reach higher.
Providing Feedback Should Not Just Happen at the Performance Review!
Five months into his job, Jeremy was in his usual upbeat mood, ready to dive into client portfolios, when his manager walked up to his cubicle and said the six words most employees dread to hear: “We need to discuss your performance.”
Jeremy felt butterflies flying in his stomach. Was he not doing a good job? Had he made a serious blunder? His formal performance review was months away; why the sudden meeting?
With the questions racing through his mind, Jeremy gingerly sat down in front of his manager, Ben, who maintained a serious disposition. He was never too quick to laugh at jokes, but he was a man of ethics, intelligence, and good conduct—and he commanded respect.
Ben reviewed his notes and started by commending Jeremy on areas where he had performed well. Jeremy felt more at ease. Ben then went on to talk about how in certain cases Jeremy had fallen short of expectations and provided hands-on positive feedback on steps he could take to improve.
Ben drafted out a clear roadmap, an action plan, for Jeremy to follow.
At the end of meeting, Jeremy was enlightened and confused. He nervously asked, “Ben, did our performance reviews get expedited?” A rare smile spread across Ben’s face. “No,” he said. “You’ll still have a review at year’s end. I find that providing detailed feedback more frequently helps in three ways. It keeps employees happy by helping them do a better job and reach their career goals faster, it helps the firm increase productivity levels on an ongoing basis, and it saves me time at the end of the year—all I need to do is recap.”
Providing constant feedback is essential to your direct reports’ growth. Here are ten tips for providing quality feedback to your employees without waiting for the annual performance review:
17 Tips for Providing Quality Feedback to Your Employees
1 – Assess progress on a regular basis.
Assessment should happen on a frequent basis, not just once in a while. Provide progress evaluations every week during your one-on-ones if you’re able. Make sure employees know what you perceive as their top strengths, sharing appreciation for the value they bring. Highlight areas for improvement, conveying what employees need to work on strengthening so they’ll know where to focus their efforts.
2 – Provide continuous feedback.
Outside of your sit-down meetings, share ongoing feedback on a daily basis, or at least several times a week. Immediate feedback on a job well done or an area for improvement helps employees understand the advice they receive more clearly.
3 – Make sure you are clear on why you are delivering the feedback.
Often, feedback comes from judgment and we don’t want to pass it off as feedback. So, it’s important to pause and think about where the feedback is coming from and how can you deliver it in a way that will be received positively.
4 – Tackle problems immediately.
Tackle performance problems as they happen. Coach employees on how to handle them when they need assistance.
5 – Be positive.
Focus on what the person is doing well when giving feedback (and not just what they can improve upon). If your feedback concerns a problem, look for opportunities to “catch them doing it right.” Reinforce positive behavior.
6 – Focus on the behavior, not the person.
When discussing a problem with performance, keep your emotions in check. Focus on the actions of the individual, not the person.
7 – Be specific.
Provide tangible examples of the behavior in question, not vague, “drive by” criticism like, “You’ve been arguing with customers a lot” or “I’ve been hearing complaints about your attitude”
8 – Be timely.
Don’t wait until the employee’s annual performance appraisal to provide positive or negative feedback. The closer feedback is tied to the behavior in question (good or bad) the more powerful it will be.
9 – Don’t use judgment as a means for feedback.
Don’t use feedback as a cover for you to share an actual judgment or be critical of another person. Judgment is just your opinion of a person’s character and isn’t neutral.
10 – Provide feedback from a neutral place.
Feedback is really a piece of information or observation you are sharing. Once a person receives the feedback from a neutral space, the person can decide to change or not.
11 – Make it a two-way conversation.
Take time to engage the employee and check for understanding. Focus on “partnership,” not “this is what you’re doing wrong” or “this is what you need to change.”
12 – Make sure you have these three qualities before delivering feedback.
Feedback can best be received when you have the authority, credibility and trust already established in the relationship. Without these three things, it makes it more difficult to receive the feedback.
13 – Identify solid performance.
Encourage a strong performance by communicating exactly what it looks like—and when employees achieve it.
14 – Keep clear records.
Maintain an employee performance log, jotting down details about what they’ve been doing well and where they need to enhance their skills. Be as specific as possible about achievements and issues.
15 – Communicate openly.
Make yourself approachable by letting employees know how they should reach out to you, and work on communicating as clearly as possible.
16 – Develop a plan of action.
Work with the employee to develop a plan for success and offer solutions to the challenges they face.
17 – Follow up every step of the way.
Don’t hold back in giving total support. Check in frequently, ensuring that employees know they can come to you with any questions.
Give constructive criticism about behaviors you’ve noticed and offer career development tips the other person can implement right away. At the same time, shift your own mindset about feedback so you’ll feel more comfortable giving it on a regular basis to those around you, as I discuss in the next section.
Eliminate the idea of “positive” and “negative” feedback.
I’ve come across many star employees, even those with excellent executive leadership skills, who find performance reviews an awkward and often daunting task. It doesn’t matter if they themselves are being reviewed or if they are the reviewers; giving and receiving feedback makes them uneasy.
Why? Maybe it’s because they don’t want to face a difficult, uncomfortable situation if it may arise. Some feel they might be humiliating their colleagues by giving tough feedback, while others don’t want to voice their opinion because they fear being disliked. Many feel defensive about taking criticism as well. Others can’t give them effective feedback because they don’t want to hurt their coworkers’ feelings.
This can actually inhibit your ability to say what you truly want to say. There is no such thing as positive or negative feedback—it’s all just feedback. You’re giving advice on the behaviors that need to be corrected, not on the individual’s character. If you give and receive input with this mindset, you’ll get much better at finding effective ways to provide quality feedback without any “hard feelings” attached. Your ultimate goal is to encourage behaviors that will help the other person get ahead and have a positive impact on coworkers and the firm at large.
Now let’s take a look at how to effectively receive feedback from others. The tips in the following section will help you build ongoing relationships based on honesty and grounded in authenticity.
My Top 3 Dos and Don’ts for Receiving Constructive Feedback
Feedback is the breakfast of champions.
~ Ken Blanchard
If you’re on the receiving end of feedback, it is imperative to ask the right questions to make sure you get the best possible advice. Business Management Daily has published a post entitled, “How to Ask for Feedback,” that includes some tips from my book, Getting Ahead. Follow these tips to get constructive feedback to help you improve your performance at work.
Don’t…
- Put the other person on the spot.
You’ll get more accurate feedback if you schedule the conversation ahead of time, giving the other person time to reflect on what you’re asking.
- Fish for compliments.
Instead of saying, “Do you think I did a good job in that presentation to the group?” ask, “How can I improve how I present to the group?” - Be defensive.
If the other person says something that makes you uncomfortable—even if you think it’s inaccurate—maintain your composure. “Can you tell me more about that?” invites further input, whereas “Why would you say that?” grinds the conversation to a screeching halt.
Do…
- Ask for specifics.
Use follow-up questions to get more detailed feedback so you’ll have a clear understanding of the exact behaviors you need to change and how.
- Thank the giver of feedback.
Always share appreciation—it can take courage to share authentic feedback.
- Follow up later.
Assess your progress by asking the giver of feedback at a later date whether you’ve improved and how you can strengthen your performance even more.
Follow these tips, and you’ll have rich, rewarding discussions with your colleagues that lend powerful insights on how to improve. Return the favor if they’d like feedback in turn, building a mutually beneficial relationship.
Coach your up-and-coming leaders by providing regular feedback. They’ll know you’re in their corner, and they’ll be more engaged, committed, and loyal as a result.
Joel can help guide your team to the next level. Reach out to him today to discuss how he helps companies secure success for the newly promoted with his three-stage promotion model can inspire them to achieve goals they may never have thought possible.
