Providing Feedback to Your Team

Providing Feedback to Your Team

There are many different approaches to providing feedback. At one end of the spectrum are those people who never compliment and only offer feedback when there is something that needs correcting. At the other end of the spectrum are those who sugar-coat the feedback to such a degree that the recipient is not really sure of the point they are trying to make.

So how can you effectively provide feedback? There needs to be some balance – let your people or your team know what they are doing well and hence should do more of and also let them know where there is room for improvement.

One Minute Praisings

• Tell people right from the start that you are going to let them know how they are doing.
• Praise people immediately.
• Tell people what they did right – be specific.
• Tell people how you feel about what they did right, and how it helps the organisation and the people who work there.
• Stop for a moment of silence and let them feel how good you feel.
• Encourage them to do more of the same.
• Shake hands or touch people in a way that it makes it clear that you support their success in the organisation.

One Minute Reprimands

Tell people beforehand you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms.

The first part of the reprimand:

• Reprimand people immediately.
• Tell people what they did wrong – be specific.
• Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong, and in no uncertain terms.
• Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence and let them feel how you feel.

The second part of the reprimand:

• Shake hands or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side.
• Remind them how much you value them.
• Re-affirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.
• Realise that when the reprimand is over, it’s over.

Important Points

• Always catch people doing things right
• Never reprimand someone who is in training
• Praise in public
• Reprimand in private

To find out more about effective feedback please contact us