Feedback You Need to Hear

First off. Feedback is a core tool of leadership. To get the most out of your team, they need to have a sense of self-efficacy—a firm belief in their ability to achieve their objectives.

Quick reminder. A leader is someone who inspires, and influences others towards achieving a shared goal, regardless of management authority.

Feedback has such a bad wrap because I think so many people have been given feedback really badly. But feedback, when done right, empowers teams, builds trust, and reduces stress. As leaders, we all need to provide feedback—up, down, and sideways—in the organisation.

Here are a few tips to ensure you approach feedback as a game-winner for everyone.

1. Get in, get on with it, get it over and get out of there. Feedback needs to be quick. Share feedback as soon as practical after observing an issue. Stay to the key points and keep it as brief as possible. Then move on.
2. Use SBI: Focus on the specific situation (not hypothetical) that the feedback relates to; the behaviour observed; and the impact felt by individuals, teams, projects, customers, or the business.
3. It isn’t personal. It is about the behaviour needing focus, not about the person. Take care not to make it personal. Avoid using the word ‘you’. Yep, you’ll need to prepare ???
4. It’s two-way: get them to contribute to the conversation, have their say, and be part of the plan to remedy. Do not prescribe the solution, but be willing to contribute ideas. They must own the solution if one is required.

Got positive feedback for someone?

Yes!! When the feedback is positive, go to town. I don’t think there is a legal limit on how much positive feedback you can dish out. But there are extra merit points for anyone who tries to find that limit. Positive feedback is like high-octane fuel. We all perform better on it.

Perhaps the feedback you have is "constructive."

When the feedback is constructive, i.e., you need to deliver feedback that can bruise the ego, then also consider the following points before unloading on some poor, unsuspecting work colleague:

A) Ask first. You should ask the recipient if it is OK for you to provide some constructive feedback at that time. If they say no, then you need to respect that. The time you have chosen may not be suitable for the recipient. Try to agree on a follow-up time as soon as possible that works for you both. It can also help to clarify your intentions and offer them support.

B) Compliment Sandwich: It seems basic, but this oldie is a goodie and definitely helps.?Start the feedback conversation with a positive observation, then get into the meaty part of the constructive feedback. Then finish again with another positive statement to end the conversation on a positive note. We are all humans, and feedback that is not positive or is about something we didn't do well can sting. Some people are less sensitive to criticism that others. As a leader, you should cater to a more sensitive audience, and then you can refine over time based on the individual.

Any leader that prescribes to the 'tough love' or 'suck it up buttercup', IMHO, is just lazy and uses those terms to justify their laziness.

C) Agree Action and Followup: If you are the manager in the situation, then if the constructive feedback was important enough to discuss, then it is important enough to take action and review the required construction. Be genuine and work with the recipient to check in and share their efforts to make themselves better.

Who is fair game for feedback?

The recipients of feedback depend highly on the culture of the business. Ideally, feedback should be 360°—up, down, and around you. This helps keep a team self-regulated and reduces the need for other managers to be brought in to deal with team development activities. Those situations can be challenging when it is a 'he said, she said' scenario. When a manager does not directly observe the situation, it makes feedback sessions less valuable for everyone.

Some organisations may have a culture that frowns on upward feedback—providing feedback to your manager. It is a shame, but culture always wins. If you want to work at a place that does not support upward feedback, then you might need to accept that your idiot manager will blissfully continue being an idiot ??♀?

To finish on a positive note, feedback is critical for team cohesion and effectiveness. If someone wants to give you constructive feedback, learn to embrace it. You are being provided a cheat code on how to be better, and someone has an interest in you becoming better. When you give feedback, you are helping someone important be better at what they do—that is leadership. Be a leader; use feedback.