{"id":422,"date":"2022-02-19T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/?p=422"},"modified":"2022-01-19T16:33:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T16:33:29","slug":"feeding-back-effectively-tips-to-help-keep-feedback-helpful-and-constructive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/feeding-back-effectively-tips-to-help-keep-feedback-helpful-and-constructive\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeding Back Effectively: tips to help keep feedback helpful and constructive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/performance-management-how-to-make-it-work-for-everyone\/\">last blog<\/a>,\u00a0we discussed how facilitating good feedback should be a priority for leaders. It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/performance-management\/performance-management-cycle\/monitoring\/feedback-is-critical-to-improving-performance\/\">critical for improving the performance of your team<\/a>. But what is best practice when it comes to delivering that feedback? To be truly effective, feedback needs to fulfil these criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Timely<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you had to pick one vital component to make feedback effective, it\u2019s timing. Feedback conversations \u2013 whether positive or negative in nature \u2013 are most effective when they\u2019re held as soon as possible after the event. Relevance wanes after a while \u2013 if you delay the feedback, people may not know why you are giving the feedback, or even remember the situation you\u2019re discussing at all.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Balanced<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Balancing the positive and negative in your feedback is something that\u2019s worth making the effort over \u2013 particularly if you do need to share something about a team member\u2019s performance that is less than glowing. Managers are often quick to notice things that might be wrong, but often we need to make more of an effort to highlight things that have gone well. Get in the habit of providing regular positive feedback to your people, and not just as a softener when you have more negative or constructive things to discuss.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Specific<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keeping your language specific and observational will support the most effective outcome for your feedback. Being factual keeps the tone from being judgemental. There\u2019s a world of difference between saying, \u2018You weren\u2019t paying attention in that meeting,\u2019 and, \u2018I noticed you looking out of the window \u2013 is everything okay?\u2019 Stating the specific facts of what you witnessed, rather than delivering judgement of the behaviour, means that defences will not immediately be drawn up by the person receiving the feedback \u2013 and you might get to the real issue a lot more quickly, with less confrontation.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of positive feedback, using specific observation can work just as well, teasing out meaningful detail. Generic feedback such as, \u2018Well done, thanks for helping that person,\u2019 can be made more useful by highlighting the details of the result of the helpful behaviour \u2013 for example, \u2018I noticed you took the time to show that person the process. That will mean fewer mistakes in future. Thank you,\u2019.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Regular<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Get into the habit of giving positive, specific feedback on a regular basis. The more you do it, the more your team will have the opportunity to hear something relevant and encouraging about themselves. This helps build a culture of genuine positivity which will make the more directive feedback \u2013 where you need to correct something with your team \u2013 so much easier for them to handle.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fair and consistent<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some leaders may shy away from delivering the more difficult feedback to certain team members \u2013 whether it be for fear of upsetting them, or because a confrontation may ensue if they react badly. This is understandable, but it isn\u2019t fair, either on the individual in question, or indeed, other team members. All of your team ought to have the opportunity to receive feedback, even if it\u2019s not always entirely positive. Showing a scrupulously even hand when it comes to giving feedback means that your team will always trust the integrity of your communication.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Conversational<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re trying to encourage someone to keep up the good work, or adjusting something they\u2019re doing, it\u2019s constructive to think of feedback as a two-way concept. \u00a0Both parties need to be able to contribute to the conversation; both sides need to be able to voice their views on the way forward and be able to contribute solutions to any issues raised. Effective feedback is always <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2020\/06\/good-feedback-is-a-two-way-conversation\">a dialogue, not a monologue.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>A useful model of feedback is BIFF \u2013 behaviour, impact, feelings, and future<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Behaviour<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Describe what you actually saw first-hand; passing on third party feedback is not helpful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From your perspective, what are the consequences of the observed action or behaviour? Remember to consider not only the impact on you and the organisation, but other members of the team as well as the individual themselves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Feelings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How would you and others feel about this action? Those feelings must be linked to the impact of that behaviour.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Future<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What can the individual do in the future \u2013 what behaviour do they need to adopt, adapt, continue, or cease? What needs to be actioned in order to improve or maintain things in the future?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/\">Cube Learning and Development<\/a> delivers bespoke, personal coaching programmes to support you in achieving effective performance management with your team.\u00a0 For a no-obligation chat about this and our other training, call Chris Burton on 07879 602002.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the last blog,\u00a0we discussed how facilitating good feedback should be a priority for leaders. It\u2019s critical for improving the performance of your team. But what is best practice when it comes to delivering that feedback? To be truly effective, feedback needs to fulfil these criteria: Timely If you had to pick one vital component to make feedback effective, it\u2019s timing. Feedback conversations \u2013 whether positive or negative in nature \u2013 are most effective when they\u2019re held as soon as possible after the event. Relevance wanes after a while \u2013<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,53],"tags":[61,42,62,59,60],"class_list":["post-422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organisational-development","category-productivity","tag-feedback","tag-management","tag-managers","tag-performance","tag-performance-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":430,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422\/revisions\/430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}