Delivering Feedback

Feedback is a gift, and great leaders give it generously. It shouldn't be limited to performance cycles or done once or twice a year. Rather, it should be an ongoing thing. The more you delay feedback, the harder it becomes to deliver, and the sooner you deliver it, the more time the individual has to act on it.

Many managers tend to avoid difficult conversations. They wrap the constructive feedback around layers of praise (praise, feedback, praise). This can give the impression that things are generally good, and the feedback may be ignored or not be taken as seriously. This method of providing feedback, which involves sandwiching constructive criticism with praise, is unfortunately used too often and can make the feedback less effective. The individual might even miss the fact that any feedback was given altogether. It is crucial to give feedback directly and provide specific examples to communicate clearly.

To avoid communication gaps when delivering constructive feedback, it is suggested to provide it in a written format and communicate it verbally as well. This will make it a lot easier to avoid expectation misalignment.

As a manager, you need to identify when a behavior is a one-time occurrence or if it is a behavior pattern. It is not always necessary to give feedback if something happens once. This is most likely a chance occurrence or a slip-up. However, if a negative behavior becomes a pattern, it is time to step in and deliver actionable feedback. It also depends upon the type of issue; some behaviors may need stronger feedback, even if they only happen once.

For example, if a team member occasionally misses team meetings and communicates well about it with the team, it doesn’t warrant any feedback. However, if a team member misses meetings frequently, you should give them feedback. On the other hand, mistakes that might bring down the production system, like not following the processes, will warrant strong feedback, even if they happen only once.

Note: Building trust in relationships plays an important role in delivering feedback. For instance, you observe a team member not doing so well (missing meetings, being late), and you wait because you are unsure about the confrontation. It might be a one-off behavior, and you decide to reserve feedback. This situation will be much easier to navigate if you’ve built a trusting relationship with the team member. You can confront them as soon as you observe the behavior and deliver feedback.

Providing actionable feedback

The purpose of feedback is to help individuals grow, not to penalize or criticize them. If you’ve built trust, your team will understand and know that you are delivering feedback because you care about their growth. So, whenever you deliver constructive feedback, try to follow up with some action items. This means that you need to have a growth plan for whatever deficient area you've identified.