Feedback That Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message, Second Edition

WHAT IS EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK?

One of the best development actions you can take is to communicate a specific message based on observed performance. The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) defines feedback as information that you give in response to actions you observe in others. You may have told a fellow manager, a coworker, or even your boss that he is a good leader, or that she communicates well, or that he needs to be more strategic. You may believe that such statements are helpful examples of feedback. But such statements only evaluate or interpret; they don’t describe a specific behavior so that a person can learn and develop by repeating or avoiding that behavior.

Effective feedback is developmental. It should enable the person receiving the feedback to understand exactly what he or she did in a particular situation and the impact it had on others. When feedback is this specific and this direct, there is a better chance that the person getting the feedback will be motivated to begin, continue, or stop behaviors that affect performance.

Think about feedback you have given to coworkers, bosses, or direct reports about their performance. Then ask yourself: What did the person do that made you think he was a good leader? What did she say and how did she say it to make you think she communicates well? What did he do that made you conclude his thinking wasn’t strategic enough?

In the pages that follow, you’ll learn how to answer questions like these as you develop your feedback skills using the SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) Feedback method. After reading this book, you will be able to:

•  give feedback to a boss, peer, or direct report that accurately represents your thoughts without blame, judgment, or emotion

•  deliver feedback in a way that is easy for the recipient to understand

•  become more conscious of a person’s actual behavior and the messages it sends

•  understand the importance and nuances of giving effective virtual feedback

•  increase your awareness of the emotional responses you have to the actions of others

•  increase the likelihood that you will receive more feedback that you can use for your own development.

TEN COMMON MISTAKES IN GIVING FEEDBACK

CCL has discovered in its work with thousands of people in