HBR Women at Work Podcast The Essentials: Giving Feedback

Listen on -  Apple Podcasts | Spotify |  Google Podcasts

It's performance review season, and I've had a lot of discussions with leaders about providing Effective Feedback.  Although this podcast aired in May 2021, the advice and perspective here are sound and easily applied.

Check out the podcast link above and my Five-Minute Insights below:

Nick's Five-Minute Insights- 

Giving feedback is essential to being a good manager, yet it’s often a rather dreaded task.  You may worry about how it will be received or how to make time for it.  Or sometimes, the feedback lost is long and it’s tough to know where or how to start the conversation. 

There are Three Types of Feedback:

1. Appreciation: what’s going well, what is working for you, what you want them to keep doing.  Praise effort over ability.
2. Coaching: asking questions, giving advice, “how to” guidance
3. Evaluation: where they stand in meeting expectations and objectives

Dividing feedback into categories can help both parties with different types of feedback.  If someone asks for feedback, you should ask:  “What would be most helpful at this time?” While it’s relatively painless to deliver appreciation, coaching and evaluation feedback can be more challenging to deliver; these key ideas will help: 

How to give Evaluation feedback that will be received well?

1. Get on their side.  Visualize swinging your chair over to the other person’s side of the table and sitting side-by-side to analyze, brainstorm, and solve the situation or problem together.
2. Listen.  When employees were asked, “What would have made the feedback session more effective?” the top answer was, “I wish the other person had listened to me”… WOW… Once again, listening is one of the most important skills/practice for effective communication… Even when you think you are ‘delivering’ a message, you need to listen.
3. Prioritize Feedback.  When deciding which feedback to share first, data shows that the #1 thing that motivates people is making progress.  With that in mind, start with something  that can create positive momentum.  Then, circle back, check for progress, and build on your momentum.

Great Questions to ask while providing feedback:

Determine their ability to self-assess by asking for their view of a situation.

• How did you feel that meeting/project/presentation went?
• I’m asking because I got “X” feedback on it.  Why might they think that?
• In a similar situation (next time), what would you do the same? What would you do differently?
• I know you usually do well in these settings; what happened in this case?
• What would you be willing to try?
• Or start with:  Here is what I saw…how did you see it?

 Concluding a Great Feedback Session:

1. We’ve covered a lot of ground today; what was most valuable to you?
2. What were your top 3 takeaways?
3. What are your key actions going forward?

 Following up on Feedback:

1. Plan ahead – “Let’s touch base in two weeks,” or “When should we touch base next.”
2. Ask Questions: - How did that go? - Was that easier or harder than you thought it would be? - Given your results, what do you want to do more of / less of?

Delivering feedback is essential to becoming an effective leader.

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