Feedback Essentials

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Deciding When and How to Deliver Feedback
Timing is everything
In some ways, knowing when to give feedback is easier than you may realize; you just have to train yourself to recognize the most appropriate moments. Offer feedback when the following types of situations arise:
1 When good work, successful projects, and resourceful behavior need to be recognized. Positive feedback is not given often enough, and yet its benefits can be great.
2 When the probability of successfully improving a person's skills is high. Skills that can be learned are more easily changed than a person's habits or personality.
3 When a problem cannot be ignored; that is, when the person's behavior has a negative impact on the team or organization.

Timing feedback well
People tend to give feedback right away, in an impromptu manner. An immediate response can be useful because the incident is fresh in everyone's minds. However, there is an inherent danger in reacting quickly: You may react before you have all the necessary facts and information, or while people's feelings are still too turbulent. Feedback under these circumstances may be damaging. Therefore, it is best to be sensitive to the situation when deciding exactly when to give feedback. There are no hard and fast rules about timing feedback, so it is best to be flexible.

For example:
1 You may decide to provide feedback as soon as you can after you observe the behavior you want to correct or reinforce if you have all the necessary information—and that the recipient would be open to it.
2 You may need to pause long enough to gather all the necessary information before discussing an issue.
3 If the behavior you observed was particularly upsetting, you may need to give everyone (including yourself) time to calm down.
The right time to deliver feedback depends on the situation and on the recipient. Try to determine whether the person is ready to accept your message; otherwise, the feedback might not be heard.


Prepare for formal feedback sessions
How can you maximize the effectiveness of your formal feedback sessions? Prepare by considering these four principles.

Key Idea
Most of the feedback you give will probably be on-the-go responses to immediate situations. However, setting up a formal feedback session can provide a more orderly process for learning and growth.

In these situations, take the time to do your homework beforehand to ensure that the session goes smoothly. During your preparation phase, think through the ways in which differences in gender, race, age, and communication style may lead to different perspectives on an issue. Be attentive to the ways in which these factors may play a crucial role in how your message is received, and in how you might be able to bridge gaps.

For example, consider adapting your method of giving feedback to the communication style you think would be most comfortable for the recipient.

Take these actions to prepare for a formal feedback session:
1 Gather all the data, facts, and information you need to present an objective view of the issue.
2 Consider the recipient's point of view when planning what you are going to say. Try to understand who the person is, and how he or she wants to grow.
3 Anticipate the person's response to the feedback you will provide.
4 Separate feedback from formal performance evaluations.

Feedback sessions versus performance evaluations
Be aware that a formal feedback session is not the same as a performance evaluation meeting. While both are useful tools in a manager's arsenal, they have different purposes. The focus of a performance evaluation is to review an employee's past work, while the emphasis of a feedback session is on looking to the future and determining how the employee can grow.

Feedback sessions are conducted by two (or sometimes more) people on an as-needed basis, whereas formal performance appraisals are conducted between supervisors and their direct reports at regular intervals (usually every six months or at least once a year).