Successful businesses turn setbacks into chances to improve and learn instead of accepting defeat. A key to this transformation is effective feedback around the problem. The model below will help you provide feedback in a way that will help people learn and change.
Feedback can be used to both modify and reinforce perceived undesirable conduct as well as to support positive behavior. As the leader you have a responsibility to create an environment within your team where giving and receiving constructive feedback is considered the norm. Healthy effective teams regularly exchange feedback between all team members.
The following outlines the steps to take to provide effective feedback. Your goal is to deliver feedback in a respectful and constructive manner, which will help the listener hear your feedback in a positive way. Although there is no guarantee that your message will be heard as intended, this process will maximize your probability of success.
- Identify the problem clearly and specifically.
Take the time to identify the problem clearly and then organize the issues that need to be addressed. Is this an isolated problem or can this be seen in many areas of their performance? How does this issue affect the individual’s performance success? How does it impact the rest of the team/organization?
- Select an appropriate time and place.
Select a time and location where you won’t be disturbed and where the atmosphere is suitable for the kind of message you’re giving. Explain the value of feedback and that you want to give feedback to support an individual’s growth and learning.
- Setting the stage.
Acknowledge that it is difficult to hear feedback. The most common error is for people to take the feedback personally, stop listening and become defensive. This makes it difficult for the individual to modify their behavior. Therefore, it’s helpful to clarify that the criticism is directed at a certain conduct and not the person receiving it.
- Describe the behavior.
Describe the behavior that you see. Be specific and stick to the facts, e.g. “You are consistently late to our team meetings.”
- Make your case.
Describe the effects that this matter has on other people, on oneself, or on the company’s success. e.g. “When you are late to meetings, people do not see you as a committed team member.”
- Hold your ground.
If they push back, you should listen for fresh information, but until it’s obvious that the message is understood, you should maintain your ground and be detailed. e.g. “I understand that you have been really busy recently, but your tardiness affects the rest of the staff, who are also extremely busy.” Often you may only need to go to this step for the person to get it and agree to change, in which case go to step 10. If not, keep reading.
- Explore the issue fully.
Before you can develop a plan for change you need to fully understand the total context in which the behavior occurs, e.g. “Are you having difficulty managing your time effectively?” At this point, the individual getting the input could correct the conduct or apologize and promise to do so in the future. e.g. “My tardiness is due to a medical problem that requires time sensitive injections.”
- Describe the positive consequences.
Describe the advantages of the behavior you want to modify in order to inspire a commitment to change, e.g. “ If you appear on time to our meetings, you will be accepted by the team and involved in decision making.” If there is now a commitment to make improvements, move on to step 10.
- Describe the negative consequences.
You will need to outline the negative outcomes of the behavior, such as “If you continue to be late you will be placed on a performance plan and risk getting demoted or fired,” if the person is still refusing to comply. (This is an example of what would occur if there was no more information obtained from step 7.) If the individual is willing to listen and adapt, this paradigm can be helpful. However not everyone is open to receive feedback and willing to adapt their behavior. If the person you are giving feedback to cannot use constructive feedback, you will need to decide whether you want to accept their behavior or end the relationship.
- Plan for change.
The outcome of this process is a commitment and a plan to change. The plan should include agreement of the stated problem and a detailed action plan with milestones for progress reviews, e.g. “As agreed we will change your hours due to your medical condition and communicate to the team the need to change the timing of the team meeting to include you.
By Doris Kovic