Feedback is crucial for positive learning environments. The person providing the feedback is providing a precious gift to the recipient, although understandably feedback is not always wanted or asked for. When leaders provide feedback in the spirit of helping their team member to gain awareness and to move towards the best version of themselves, it is undoubtedly the best gift of all.
It is extremely important that leaders are skilled in providing feedback in the right way. Feedback is a powerful tool that can create a strong shift in behaviour or performance, but if it is not done correctly it can lower self-esteem, disengage or hurt employees and make them feel like their contribution or efforts are not valued.
The following are some tips and techniques for leaders to enhance their success in the art of providing effective performance feedback:
Highlight the employee’s strengths and what is going well first. Avoid making judgement statements or blaming the employee such as below:
Judging or blaming just puts the employee on the defensive and does not lead to a productive conversation.
Statements like "You did a great job" or "You didn't take care of the clients' concerns very well" are too vague and don't give enough insight into the behaviour that the leader would like to see repeated or changed.
The employees should know exactly what aspect of their performance that needs improving if there is any chance of success.
The ‘hot stove’ principle of leadership calls for feedback to be timely as the stove does not ‘burn’ people three weeks after an issue or concern.
Consistent and timely feedback creates trust. Feedback should occur as soon as practical after the interaction, completion of the deliverable, or when an observation is made.
Every manager has bias – whether they are aware of it or not. “Like Me” bias is where a manager is drawn to employees that are like themselves and who they share interests with.
For example, when an employee supports the same football team as their manager it helps to build a bond. This bond can create unconscious bias where the manager is less likely to see performance issues.
It is important that performance is separated from the person. Feedback should be focused on the job and the performance, irrespective of the person performing it.
Avoid making the feedback seem as if it is a judgment. Begin with "I have observed..." or "I have noticed..." This provides the foundation to refer to the behaviour and not the person.
Describe to the employee what you heard and saw and how those behaviours impact the customer, product, team, outcome, etc.
The ‘how’ provides the leader with an opportunity to ask some questions that will provide insight into the performance. Asking questions like belowwill assist the leader to better understand what will help create stronger performance:
Most importantly, these questions highlight an interest in what happened and what the leader can do to better support the employee to achieve their best.
It is tempting when providing feedback for leaders to provide all of the answers. Consider holding back the solution long enough to hear the employee’s insights, perspectives and point of view as they may just have the right approach in mind.
Providing the initial feedback is just the first step. It is not uncommon for employees to sit through a feedback session and be unclear about the performance gap or what needs to happen to bridge it.
It is recommended that leaders asks some open-ended questions at the end to check for understanding.
There are daily opportunities for feedback and not just at the annual performance review. When it is done well, feedback enriches self-awareness as well as competencies. Feedback might be a quick ‘check in’ to see how things are tracking or started by asking a direct question about a project.
Consider the last time that you received feedback that encouraged or inspired you to make a change. What was it about ‘how’ it was delivered that made the difference? A leader has the unenviable task of sharing insights and suggestions that employees simply do not want to hear, so it is important that the appropriate preparation is taken to ensure that it is delivered and received in the right spirit.
Whilst praise is easy to give, constructive feedback is significantly more challenging for leaders and a necessary part of the job. The art of providing effective feedback may come with great risk, but there is also significant reward in knowing that your courage to raise a performance gap has been instrumental in the employee making a positive change.
Ai Group Members are encouraged tocontact usorcall the Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77 for assistance with their workplace matters.
Take advantage of more than 140 years of experience actively solving Members’ workplace issues and representing their interests at the highest levels of national and state government. Being a Member of Ai Group makes good business sense.
Download our brochureto see why you should join and call us on1300 55 66 77or visit ourWhy join pageto sign up for a consultation with one of our member representatives.
Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
