Don’t be nice in a debrief

If one person praises or compliments another individual or service in a formal debrief situation, alarm bells should be ringing. Yes, I know it seems counter intuitive to suggest that offering positive feedback might have a negative side to it in a debrief. Surely everyone needs to receive praise and compliments and feel good about what they’ve done? Whilst that may be true in many other situations, in a debrief context, such as an After Action Review (AAR), praise is a like Trojan Horse. It looks like it is one thing but carries with it many other meanings as well as opportunities.

The potential for learning is lost

The first problem with praise or compliments is that they are loaded with potential for learning, yet they are rarely responded to as such. This is easier to understand if we look instead at blame. During the After Action Review facilitators’ training that we provide in healthcare and business settings, there is naturally a focus on learning how to shift the dialogue in an AAR away from blame. To pinpoint a single service or individual as the cause of an issue is not only very uncomfortable for those concerned, but also very unhelpful as it brings a full stop to the opportunity for learning from the system in which the issues arose. Blame is someone’s assessment of the cause of the issue and suggests that there is no need to look further.

Praise operates in exactly the same way in an AAR. When one individual makes an assessment of what was good, it will disrupt the potential for learning. For example, if the Consultant Gynaecologist says, “The midwives were just amazing that evening”, Or the Project Lead says, “IT were great and really helped us out.”, we hear assessments but have no substance to support future action.

Praise and hierarchy are intertwined

The second area of concern is that praise and compliments are often steeped in hierarchy and even if there is no obvious status difference in the transaction, praise can create one. The Consultant Gynaecologist has sufficient status in the organisational hierarchy to offer praise to the midwives whilst the scrub nurse or porter does not. Praising the actions of IT serve to highlight the Project Leads’ senior position to do so, even if that was not the intention. ?When I received praise recently from an Associate with whom I had worked on a training day (for my excellent facilitation of the day) I felt both pleased and slightly awkward, as it disrupted my assumed position in the hierarchy. ?

Why might hierarchy be a problem? To create an open and worthwhile learning environment in a debrief, hierarchy needs to be flattened so that all feel safe to contribute fully.

Praise can distract

The third issue I have with praise in any debrief situation is that it can serve to distract attention away from an area of concern. The very act of shining a light on a positive activity or attribute makes it less likely that attention will turn to uncomfortable matters. There are plenty examples of politicians praising themselves and their own party’s actions, to distract listeners from the real situation. In an AAR even simple praise, may prevent the AAR facilitator from exploring other more challenging areas.

Praise isn’t all bad in a debrief or AAR, as its usually an indicator that there is something valuable to explore so it shouldn’t be ignored but it must be handled as sensitively as blame.

Three key responses to praise

To prevent praise and compliments impacting on the quality of your debrief or AAR, I recommend that you: -

1)??????? Notice it. Noticing praise in real time is a skill which needs practice, such is the power of praise to hook us into its comforting world. Take some time to tune in during meetings and news broadcasts to hear when someone is praising another and notice what happens as a result.

2)??????? Lean in to praise when you are facilitating a debrief and remove the full stop it brings. Follow the compliment with a question: “What was it that the midwives did that was so amazing that evening? What helped you to be so amazing Midwives? How might that be repeated in future?” “What was it that IT did that was so helpful?”. Questions such as these move the conversation forward and to a space where new knowledge is created.

3)??????? Maintain your “true north” as a facilitator. The preparation work you undertake before facilitating a debrief, will have given you clarity on the scope and direction of travel. Don’t allow praise to divert you from this “True North”.

If you would like to learn more about advanced facilitation skills for debriefs and After Action Reviews, please drop us a line to arrange a chat. [email protected]

Thanks for reading.

Judy?