Good leaders are great at giving (and receiving) feedback. Feedback, when delivered effectively motivates, develops people, can be used as a tool for creating a healthy environment, boosts productivity, and deepens engagement among colleagues or peers. So what makes feedback difficult to deliver, why is it still necessary, and what are the appropriate means of delivering it?
What makes giving and receiving feedback difficult?
Miscommunication and poor timing are two challenges one can face when delivering feedback. Shared the wrong way or at the wrong time, it can demoralize the recipient, damage relationships and reinforce negative behaviors. Considering the timing and technique is key in offering more effective feedback that centers the recipient's growth and success.
Why is feedback necessary?
Feedback can lead to saved time, saved costs, better relationships and better performance. Failure to master this craft is bad for business and bad for relationships.
A model for delivering feedback
Feedback needs to be a part of the culture. Increasing the frequency of feedback normalizes it and makes sharing critical feedback less scary / painful and more useful to the recipient.
When feedback is delivered more regularly, employees have the immediate opportunity to change behavior, to seek training to develop skills they may be lacking, and to deliver better results. Waiting for an annual review to share opportunities for improvement fails the recipient.
One model discussed in our Grow With Google "Coach Your Team to Success" Training (watch it here) is "The Situation Behavior and Impact" model or SBI. The SBI model breakdown is simple and direct.
Situation - Describe the situation
Behavior - The behavior (what they did)
Impact - And the impact of that behavior...
Then discuss and clarify, create options, agree on next steps
Remember: Feedback creates a healthy environment, boosts productivity and engagement, and helps teams achieve better results.