Jan 16
There is a Myth Your People Only Want Positive Feedback
There is a myth that your people only want praise and high fives in work.
While they definitely look for a positive work culture, they actually want more, not less feedback. They are ambitious, they want to grow and as a result are likely to lose respect for a manager who holds back on honest, in the moment feedback.
I believe as managers, we shy away from constructive feedback because we don’t know where to start.
Your people want to hear it. They want to grow.
I’ve personally been on the receiving end of many performance related conversations where I explicitly asked for constructive feedback. On nearly every occasion, I heard very little feedback that would help me improve or grow. It always left me feeling frustrated and in search of better.
We need to rethink feedback and debunk this myth.
To deliver consistent, high quality feedback that lands well, we need to invest in our managers.
We do so by providing them with the tools to have the confidence in delivering high value, constructive feedback. I’ve learnt first hand the value of investing in feedback frameworks as a tool.
Here’s 3 great frameworks to get started with:
#1 SKS approach
A great approach to start with introducing is the SKS approach to facilitating feedback. The specificity of knowing what we should quit, continue, and start doing anchors us. The questions are:
- What should I stop doing?
- What should I keep doing?
- What should I start doing?
#2 Situation-Behaviour-Impact(SBI)
Another and one I rely on heavily is the Situation-Behaviour-Impact model for feedback. Provide concise and non-judgemental feedback as follows:
Situation: you outline the situation you saw
Behaviour: the precise behaviour observed
Impact: finally, you highlight the impact of the person’s behaviour
#3 Radical Candor
A modern approach to feedback that’s gaining great momentum. With clarity on the four quadrants, Radical Candor shows how it is possible to care personally and challenge directly at the same time.
Let’s drop the myth that your people are sensitive to constructive feedback . The more specific we can be as managers with feedback, the better.
Your people will only respect you for it.
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