Expert tips for giving feedback that sticks

One of the most important skills to develop as a manager is delivering feedback. Here are a few expert tips to help you feel more equipped and confident.

We know feedback is important to both our growth and our employee's growth. We don't want to hurt people's feelings when giving constructive feedback. It’s possible to have productive feedback conversations that fuel performance and motivation. Here's how:

Reinforce strengths regularly with positive feedback 

By calling attention to specific positive behaviors, you’re helping your employee recognize what excellence looks like and signaling the behavior that you want more of.  When you see someone doing something well, call it out! Avoid saying empty phrases like "good job,” instead, share specific feedback that outlines what the person did or said and its impact.

Give specific feedback with the SBI model

SBI stands for Situation, Behavior, Impact. This technique grounds your feedback in detail so that your report can learn exactly how and when they need to improve, and the impact. Using SBI also helps to make your feedback about someone's performance and not them as a person.

For example: 

• (S) Stress was high on the team last week. 
• (B) I noticed you maintained a positive attitude.  
• (I) Several of your teammates shared with me, in private, how grateful they were for your noticeable impact to team morale

Distinguish feedback from judgmental evaluations 

Generalizations, assumptions, and criticism are not feedback - they are judgmental evaluations that can do more harm than good. Feedback, on the other hand, focuses on results, change, and forward thinking. Review the examples below for the difference between judgmental evaluations and observational feedback. 

• A generalization: “You’re always late.” Observation: “You arrived 10 minutes late to the meeting this morning.”
• An assumption: “You’re avoiding me.” Observation: “I sent you two messages and I haven’t received a response.
• A criticism: “Your work is messy.” Observation: “Three of the stats in the board report were inaccurate.”

Be timely and considerate in your delivery 

It’s important to give feedback in a timely manner. This helps you and the employee recall the specific details you’re sharing and adjust their behavior as needed sooner rather than later. 

It also helps to prompt the feedback conversation. Ask, "Is now a good time for some feedback?" or "I want to offer some feedback that I think will be helpful to you - would you like to chat about it?" People are more likely to be open to feedback if they have a chance to say “yes” to receiving it. 

Then, share your intention by saying something like, "The reason I'm giving you this feedback is I want to help you improve in [THIS AREA]." Choose the method of delivery (written communication, verbal or video) that is appropriate for the situation and takes into account accessibility for your employee. 

When possible, align feedback with goals and values

Instead of giving disconnected feedback, it's great if you can connect your feedback to a goal your employee is working towards. For example:

Goal: “We talked about your longer-term goal to become a manager.”

Feedback: “I noticed that when you presented the project outcomes, you didn’t mention the efforts of your team. Recognition is an important part of being a manager and I want to help you develop it. How could you approach this next time?”       

You can build the same association for feedback that is related to company values. 

Give feedback at every 1-1

Providing feedback during every 1-1 meeting makes it easier for you to give and for your employee to receive. Give both positive and constructive feedback, and make it specific and timely. The more you practice this process, the easier it will be for you and your reports. Don’t forget to welcome their feedback as well.