During leadership trainings I will often ask participants to describe what good (and poor) feedback looks and feels like. At one recent talk to midlevel managers, I received the following descriptors about strong feedback:
- Honest
- Transparent
- Predictable
- Prepared
- Comfortable
- Not offensive
- Constructive
- Action- and outcome-focusedAdded together, these people were saying that feedback is most helpful and motivating when it is provided in a manner that respects the recipient and is intended to guide and correct, rather than put down or label.But how often do we see and experience the opposite? I know that I have, and it’s not fun. Not fun at all.
- Feedback has been famously called “the breakfast of champions.” We all need feedback to optimize performance and make sure that we are doing our jobs correctly.
Yet, ask most professionals to play the game of word association with the word “feedback” and you will often hear such negative words as dishonest, fear and anxiety inducing, and evaluative.
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