EPISODE 2

FEEDBACK DONE RIGHT

When giving feedback we have been trained to always focus on the gap, address areas of improvement and point out weaknesses.

In this newsletter we will explore why, if the the purpose of feedback is to help our team grow and bring their best to work, we seem not to be getting the results we want.

This episode presents three alternative mindsets that will help you get feedback right:

1. Feedback represents your own opinion, not facts
2. Look for excellence, not remediation
3. Focus on strengths instead of weaknesses

You will also find additional resources to expand your knowledge and actionable tips to apply on your daily leadership practice.

You'll probably notice that you won't find anything about negative feedback. In my opinion, we have been talking about negative feedback way too long, and it's about time we consider different approaches.

If at least one of these resonates with you, I encourage you to try it in your next feedback conversation and see what happens...

Let's jump right in!

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1. Feedback represents your own opinion, not facts

Research has proven that our own measurement of a competency (e.g. project management) will depend on the understanding we have of it. It will also vary when we assess different people (idiosyncratic rater effect).

So, feedback is never objective. When we provide feedback, we are talking about our own experience and feelings about the performance of others. It is, then, extremely important to understand that we do not hold the truth or the facts, just a tainted version of what happened.

Therefore, whenever you give feedback try to convey it as your experience. Some examples:

• I got lost at this particular moment of your presentation.
• Help me understand how you are defining your priorities.
• This is how I have approached this problem in the past, and these are the reasons.

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2. Look for excellence, not remediation

There's a limiting belief called the theory of excellence that states that great performance is universal and, once described, we could teach it to anyone. Competency models, leadership profiles, performance management processes; they are all designed to describe what great performance should look like.

Research found there are three main shortcomings to this theory:

• It ignores the unique traits, capabilities and talents every individual has.
• Negative feedback (or pointing out errors, weaknesses or gaps vs. these ideal models) reduces engagement.
• Telling people how to improve actually hinders learning.

If you tell a person exactly how to perform their job, you will probably get an adequate result. But, would you get their highest level of performance? The answer is usually no.

If you want feedback to become a learning moment, don't focus on gaps. Focus on the great results people are achieving, and tune them up during feedback. Some examples:

• I was very impressed on how you managed that meeting. What was your thought process behind your actions?
• The customer gave an excellent review on how you managed the communication all along the sale. What do you think you did well? How can we use that to help us get better sales conditions?

Dedicate your feedback time to explore how excellent and great look like.

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3. Focus on strengths instead of weaknesses

Once a great leader told me "you'll never turn a weakness into a strength". She was right.

Strengths are not only those things you do right, but also the ones that give you energy. On the opposite direction, a weakness can be something you are really good at, but drains your energy; e.g. you can be excellent at analyzing data but hate analytics.

If you want to build a high performance team, focus your feedback and development actions on strengths:

• Ask your team to document during a period of time what are the activities that energize them.
• During feedback, explore how to use those strengths more.
• Help people design their work in a way they can improve their existing talents and traits.

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Great leaders look for the good things, turn that into powerful feedback and play to people's strengths.

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LEARNING RESOURCES

This episode was inspired by great resources from excellent experts. Check them out to expand your knowledge!

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