8
Giving and Receiving Feedback

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

• Explain the feedback concept.

• List the four characteristics of effective feedback.

• Identify the factors necessary in effectively giving feedback.

• Identify the elements you need to receive feedback in a way that improves workplace performance.

THE CONCEPT OF FEEDBACK

This chapter focuses on two enormously important dimensions of interpersonal communication: giving and receiving feedback. All of us who work in organizations are frequently asked our opinion of a product, a procedure, or an idea. At those times we must be able to articulate answers that are clear, to the point, and offered in ways that can be understood by the other person(s). And each of us routinely seeks and receives feedback on our ideas and our work.

The term feedback comes from the field of cybernetics. It refers to the process by which a system’s output (information) is returned (“fed back”) to its source so that future output can be regulated. In a mechanical system such as your automobile, there is a feedback link between the radiator and the engine temperature gauge on the dash board. That gauge asks “How hot is the engine?” and a sensor in the radiator feeds back—that is, communicates—the information. If the gauge registers that the engine is overheating, you take corrective action. Exhibit 8–1 is an example of a “feedback loop,” showing a signal or communication going out from A to B, and then being fed back to A.

Feedback is used extensively within organizations as a type of communication. A customer survey, for example, is a method companies use to obtain feedback about how well (or poorly) customers like their products, customer service, and so forth.

Organizations also have formal methods for generating feedback between managers and their subordinates. Employees need to know (and most want to know) how well they are doing relative to their personal goals and the expectations of their boss. Do you have an annual performance review session with your boss? If you do, this is a mechanism through which your boss can give you feedback about how well, based on her observations, you are doing relative to your goals and responsibilities. Your annual review session is also a mechanism through which you can give feedback to your boss about how well you think things are going, problems you observe in your working relationship with her or with coworkers, and so forth. Feedback shows you where improvements can be made.

Some companies have gone a step further, providing employees with feedback not only from their boss, but from other employees with whom they interact in the course of their duties, primarily their peers and subordinates. This is referred to as 360-degree feedback, or multi-source feedback (see Exhibit 8–2). Properly done, this broader scope of feedback is more revealing of how well a person is actually doing. The boss may see one dimension of a person’s work, but coworkers and that person’s own subordinates often see others, which may be even more important.

Feedback is, in fact, a two-way street; it involves both giving and receiving. Giving feedback used to be called “constructive criticism,” but that only captures a small part of what feedback means. Constructive criticism is something that can be communicated by feedback—and it’s a large part of what supervisors and managers do—but it represents a one-way street in which the listener learns something and the speaker learns nothing. So, as you develop your feedback skills, remember that you must give equal attention to your capacity to give and receive. Doing both well will make you an exceptional communicator!

WHAT MAKES FEEDBACK EFFECTIVE?

Effective feedback in a workplace setting has several important characteristics:

• It is descriptive, not judgmental.

• It addresses modifiable, not unchangeable behavior.

• It deals with specific, not general, observations.

• It is well-timed.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these characteristics.

Descriptive, Not Judgmental

Effective feedback does not judge or criticize. It describes. For example, a boss trained in performance review won’t say “You can’t handle the job.” Instead, he will describe what he observes: “I’ve noticed that you’re having trouble preparing the monthly inventory reports on time. It appears that you’re not entirely familiar with using Excel spreadsheets.” Though a sensitive person might hear a note of criticism in that statement, the boss is really describing his observation.

Feedback should not adopt a tone of criticism. It should not go beyond what is observed or make a judgment of the person’s motivation. Doing otherwise—to comment on motivation (“You aren’t interested in what we’re doing here”)—would be, at best, guesswork. Judgmental feedback creates defensiveness and prevents the listener from gaining real improvement pointers from the interaction. So when you provide feedback, give concrete examples of the behavior you observe. Compare these two examples.

Example 1: Your presentation this morning was so boring you almost put me to sleep. Liven it up! Your information was good, but they’ll never remember it the way you gave it to them.

Example 2: The information you gave at the presentation this morning was very helpful. The style in which it was presented, however, was a monotone. That’s not the style you use in expressing yourself informally. Your informal style is very enthusiastic. Would it be possible to use that more informal style during your next presentation?

Obviously the second example is less judgmental. Note that effective feedback usually takes longer to articulate and it begins with the positive and then moves to areas that need improvement.

Addresses Modifiable, Not Unchangeable, Behavior

Effective feedback focuses on things that can be changed. Most people want to improve in their work, and if they are given ideas in areas they can change, they will at least try them. To be told that you could be better in a particular task if you were taller, for instance, or had a different personality type, is both insulting and not useful. Thus, feedback should concentrate on aspects of job performance that are within the power of the listener to change and improve.

Consider the following examples. Which of the two examples focuses on modifiable behavior?

Example 1: Sharon, we need to talk about a couple of aspects of the new operating procedure. Based on the data I am receiving from your workstation, you are entering data meant for an existing customer file and creating a duplicate file. You can avoid this by conducting a search before entering data to see if the customer file exists before assuming you should open a new one.

Example 2: Sharon, how many times do I have to explain this operating procedure to you? Everyone else caught on weeks ago. I’m beginning to wonder if you have the intelligence for this position.

In the second example Sharon is told that her basic intelligence is in question, whereas the first example allows Sharon to change an aspect of her job performance that is changeable. Focusing on how coworkers can improve areas within their control is a notable feature of effective feedback.

Specific, Not General

Terms such as always or never, beyond being untrue, are too general for the individual to know where to start in improving job performance. For a supervisor to say, “You’re always late for work” is probably not accurate. Saying “I’ve noticed that you’ve been late to work every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday for the past month” is both more accurate and specific, and leads to another useful question. “What’s happening on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday that is making you late—a transportation problem, getting your kids to childcare?” Feedback that focuses on a specific incident or set of incidents, preferably recent, will be much less personal and more accurate, thus increasing the chances of getting to the root cause of the problem. Positive feedback should likewise be specific. Saying “That was a terrific presentation” communicates very little information of value to the listener. Saying “Your slides and the pace of your delivery were both very effective” provides much greater information value. The listener doesn’t have to guess at which part of her presentation was so effective. Which of the following criticisms is not specific?

Example 1: You’re always late with these calculations, Matt. And when you do finally get them in, you are never totally accurate. I always have to recheck them.

Example 2: The calculations you brought in are two days late, Matt. For the past four months you have been, on average, two or three days late. Your calculations are 92 percent accurate, which is good. To make it better, though, you need to recheck the calculations for our accounts in the South region. They can be tricky. Meanwhile, let’s talk about a time-management plan to help you get these figures in on time.

The first feedback example is very general and offers no concrete evidence for the obvious irritation the speaker feels. In the second example, Matt is more likely to leave the discussion with a clear picture of where his performance needs improvement and how to go about improving it.

Well-Timed

In dramatic acting and comedy, timing is everything. Timing is also important to effective feedback. As a rule of thumb, feedback should be delivered soon after the incident or set of incidents (and therefore, a pattern) has occurred. This is because the passing of time causes at least two things: memories become inaccurate, and emotions “rewrite” the incident the way a person felt it happened rather than the way it really happened. However, emotions can also get in the way if you give feedback too soon after a particular event. More details on how to gauge appropriate timing appear later in this chapter. Now, which of the following two examples exhibits good timing?

Example 1: Lloyd, do you have a minute? Good. Do you remember early last month when we were working together on the proposal for Tri-State Electric? Well, I never told you, but I wanted to rewrite each of your major points. You had figured the specs in a way I knew they wouldn’t understand.

Example 2: Frank, is this a good time to talk? Good. Something happened in the team meeting this morning that I wanted to ask you about. Remember when Maria was offering her idea about how to market our new product? Well, you interrupted her five or six times. And even when she told you she would get to your questions, you didn’t let up. It seemed to get her off track and affected the rest of her presentation. Is that your recollection of the situation?

The second is the better example of well-timed feedback. The person giving feedback isn’t referring to something that took place a month earlier. As you can see from these examples, timing involves at least two dimensions: giving feedback soon after the incident(s), and making sure the other person has the time to talk.

GIVING FEEDBACK

Our workplaces are moving toward cross-functional teams, greater departmental interaction, and generally more group input and decision making. Opportunities abound for employees to communicate both solicited and unsolicited feedback. Companies that take advantage of these opportunities are in a better position to achieve what every organization should aim for: continuous improvement.

If you work for a forward-thinking organization, your ideas and feedback will be sought. How effective you are at giving that feedback will determine, in part, your value to the organization. We’ve described several characteristics of effective feedback; now we’ll explore specific details you must attend to in order to use those characteristics effectively.

Choose the Right Environment

Remember the old adage: Praise in public, criticize in private. Generally speaking, any feedback you give to another person that has even a hint of negativity (“Your presentation came across as a monotone”) should not be given within earshot of others. Doing otherwise is likely to create hostility or a sense of humiliation on the part of the person with whom you are communicating. So, as a basic principle, seek a private setting to give feedback that is less than flattering. In a busy office where only partitions separate work areas, find an empty meeting room. Make sure the room will not be used for the entire time you plan to meet. Even when you need to address your criticism to several coworkers or to a team, seek privacy rather than discussing the issues in a open office setting.

A Formal Setting

Some feedback sessions are best delivered in a formal setting; the annual performance review is one example. Another occasion might be when the person to whom you’ve previously given negative feedback on the same matter appears not to have taken you seriously.

A formal setting is one that is (1) private, (2) scheduled in advance, and (3) serious in tone. You can emphasize the seriousness of your feedback session by wearing formal business attire, having documentation open and ready to discuss, and eliminating pleasantries. If the subject is serious and involves repeated poor job performance, a structured improvement plan will typically be on the agenda.

An Informal Setting

An informal setting is generally employed when a manager wants to help a subordinate correct a recently observed problem. In other words, the feedback giver wants to respond immediately when a coworker exhibits a modifiable behavior because now rather than later is the best time to intervene. This type of on-the-spot feedback is the best way to:

• Control activities and keep work processes on track.

• Correct minor problems before they become big problems.

• Help subordinates improve their skills.

Many performance management experts refer to this form of feedback as coaching, and it is usually done on the spot. Consider this example:

George has been working as a teller at Colossal Bank for less than a week. He has completed the bank’s teller training course, but that course did not cover every possible situation that a new teller might encounter. So, Martha, the head teller, has been keeping her eye on George.

Mrs. Barnes, a regular customer, has just handed George her monthly Social Security check along with a deposit slip. “Hello, young man. I’d like you to deposit this into my checking account. Oh, could you take $50 out of that check and put that in my grandson’s account?”

George thinks for a moment. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Barnes, but I can’t divide up a check. If you could just write a check for fifty dollars payable to cash or to your grandson, I could deposit it to his account.”

“But I don’t have my checkbook with me,” Mrs. Barnes replies with disappointment.

George has a what-do-I-do-now look on his face. Martha notices and intervenes. “Good morning, Mrs. Barnes. So nice to see you. George, you might ask Mrs. Barnes if she’d like to use a counter check to make that deposit. They’re right here in the second drawer. Just write her checking account number in this blank space and ask her to fill it out with a deposit slip. Would that be all right with you, Mrs. Barnes?”

After the new teller had taken care of his customer, Martha returned to his teller station. “Well, that worked out well, didn’t it, George? Do you have any questions about using counter checks?” George did have questions, and Martha listened carefully to them before responding.

This simple example indicates how a supervisor can intervene in an informal setting to coach and give feedback. Notice that Martha didn’t simply tell George what to do; she followed up with “Do you have questions . . .?” and then listened. She wanted to assure herself that George understood.

Choose the Right Topic(s)

One of the biggest mistakes people make with communicating feedback is trying to cover too many things at once. This is often true of supervisors giving feedback to their subordinates. When you hear something like “And another thing you do wrong around here is . . . ,” you know that the supervisor has lost focus and is simply “piling on” all the things that have been bothering him.

Keep in mind the feedback concept of specific incident(s). Focus on one issue—the primary one—and support it with evidence from a recent and significant incident. When you begin with the recent and significant incidents, the other party is better able to see the point. Use the secondary evidence if your listener is unconvinced of the problem or begins to minimize the issue.

It is always possible that the person who’s getting feedback about performance may try to switch to another topic as a way of getting off the “hot seat” or, in the case of a colleague, of turning the tables. In those cases you can say pleasantly, “Those are good points, and I’d like to talk about them at another time, unless you can tell me how they are relevant to the topic at hand.”

Choose the Right Words

Choosing the right words is often accomplished by rehearsing them in your mind or on paper. This technique can help eliminate verbal blunders that you then have to talk your way out of, such as, “Well, I didn’t really mean to say you were. . .”. Remember, once something is said, it can’t be taken back. You can apologize, you can explain it away, you can recant your statement, but the other person will remember it nevertheless. He will put up his defenses and be unreceptive to the rest of your feedback. So, choose and rehearse the right words before your feedback session. This will prevent many verbal mistakes.

Other Tips for Giving Effective Feedback: Dos and Don’ts

• Do keep the topic and wording task-oriented, even if the other person tries to personalize it. For example, you might say, “Each of the last two project reports was a week late.” The response might be: “So you’re saying I’m disorganized.” You can then respond, “No, I said that each of the last two projects was a week late. They were well done, but late.”

• Do invite the other person’s perceptions. For example, you might ask the person who’s been late in submitting work, “How do you see the situation?” Or, “Have I overloaded you with assignments?” Pause and wait for a response before saying anything more.

• Do explain the consequences of the problem you are discussing with the other person. “Being a day or two later with those project reports wouldn’t matter if you and I were the only ones involved. But the marketing group can’t begin its work until they’ve received your report. So, if you’re late, that creates problems for them. Do you see what I mean?” Wait for an acknowledgment from the other person.

• Do listen to the answer and clarify any misunderstandings if needed.

• Do encourage the person to suggest a solution if you’re discussing a performance problem. If a subordinate offers an acceptable solution to a performance problem, she’ll be more likely to implement that solution than one imposed on her.

• Do offer a suggestion if the other person has none of her own. “One way to resolve this would be to put a reminder on your daily ‘to do’ list a week or two in advance—then you can give a few hours each day to the project rather than trying to crank it out right at the deadline.” Then ask for feedback: “How does that sound?” Again, wait for a response.

• Do gain commitment to whatever resolution you and the other person agree on. Restate how much you value the person and her work. “So you will block out two or three hours each day to get the next assignment completed by the end of the month? That’s great. You know, Helen, I really appreciate the quality of your work and our working relationship. This is the first time I’ve felt I needed to raise a concern. Thanks for hearing me out.”

• Don’t compare the person to other workers. Avoid saying, “If only you were as organized as Anne—she always gets her assignments completed on time.”

• Don’t put a judgmental spin on your feedback. Avoid something like, “This illustrates how your time-management skills are your worst fault.” Stick to the problem.

• Don’t indicate that there are other problems too; stick to the subject. Do not say, “Among other things, your work has been late,” unless, in fact, there are other areas you feel are important to address at this time. Nor should you say, “I just picked the most obvious problem, but there are others.” Doing so will overwhelm the person receiving the feedback and reduce the chance that the problem will be addressed. Instead, say, “I’d like to talk about how we can improve the present system.”

RECEIVING FEEDBACK

Feedback is a two-way street: giving and receiving information. Your effectiveness as a communicator will not be complete if you fail to master both. You must be ready and willing to receive feedback, even when it takes the form of constructive criticism of your own work or the manner in which you are managing others. This does not mean you should become someone’s doormat or a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in the office. It means that you should be open and approachable to people who may have something valuable to say. People who are good at receiving feedback have the following characteristics:

• They let the other person do most of the talking.

• They give the speaker plenty of time to talk.

• They give their full attention.

• They are responsive to what they hear.

Let’s examine each of these.

Let the Other Person Do the Talking

We learn nothing when we’re talking, so give the other person an opportunity to say what’s on her mind. Some people find this hard to do. Their instinct is to interject their views as the other person is communicating to them, or to take issue with what they’ve heard as soon as they’ve heard it. (“What do you mean, I never listen?”) Many managers have these problems. They are more accustomed to telling than to listening.

This is not to say that you should be mute while the other person talks. Practice your listening skills. You can improve the quality of communication by periodically injecting short statements and questions such as:

“That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

“Explain what you mean by that.”

“Really? Give me an example of what you mean.”

“That’s a great idea, but what evidence do you have to support it?”

“Do you think there’s support for that idea among the management team?”

“Are you the only one who feels that way about our policy?”

“You lost me on that point. Please explain.”

Notice, these are short, pointed interjections designed to draw out more important information from the other person. They actually help the giver of feedback communicate more fully.

Give the Other Person Ample Time to Express His or Her Views

Allow enough time for the exchange to be productive. Don’t look at your watch, shuffle your papers, or use other body language to signal an end to the session; hear the other person out. During the conversation, don’t be too eager to start a rebuttal. Some people cannot wait to get their two cents into a discussion. They want to respond immediately. If you’re one of these, be patient. Sit tight and give the other person as much time as he needs to communicate his observations or opinions.

Give Your Full Attention

Don’t allow your attention to stray from the speaker. Don’t begin formulating your response while the person is talking; save that for later. Demonstrate that you’re listening by injecting one of the comments listed earlier or by paraphrasing something that was said, “So, you think that we should make the Jonestown development our first priority?”

Be Responsive to Received Feedback

If you invite feedback from others, you have an obligation to consider what you’re told—otherwise people will eventually stop talking to you, as in this true example:

Jim manages four technical personnel. “You’re my team,” he likes to tell them. During his weekly staff meetings Jim will ask his subordinates for their ideas and ask what that they think of his. Unfortunately, although he gives the appearance of collaboration and idea sharing, Jim sticks to his own agenda. “These meetings are a waste of time,” says one of his people. “He asks for our ideas, but guess what, our suggestions never go anywhere. His ideas always get adopted, even when we tell him why they won’t work.”

Needless to say, the people on the “team” quickly figured out Jim’s game and stopped contributed during weekly staff meetings. No more offering their ideas; no more giving Jim feedback about his. They would merely implement whatever ideas Jim came up with.

DEALING WITH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

If you invite feedback—on your work performance, a presentation, an idea, or whatever—be prepared to occasionally hear negative comments.

“Your presentation was too long.”

“Your idea for launching new Product B will cannibalize sales from Product A.”

“You aren’t providing the leadership your team needs.”

Ouch! Well, you asked for it. This section focuses on what you can do to turn negative feedback into a positive experience.

Be Prepared

Like anyone else, you may get defensive when feedback is negative. As you learned in the section on giving feedback, defensive people gain little from feedback. They are too busy defending their bruised egos.

One way to avoid defensiveness and make the most of feedback is to prepare yourself for criticism. We suggest two preparation steps:

1. Think ahead to the criticisms you’re likely to hear. For example, if you’ve just made a presentation to a customer group, take a minute to mentally review how it went. Were you visibly nervous? Were there some confusing slides in the PowerPoint presentation? Did people in the back of the room ask you more than once to “Please speak louder—we can’t hear you”? This type of mental preparation will make it easier to deal objectively with whatever negative feedback you get. It is especially important when feedback will be given in a formal setting, such as your annual performance review.

2. Take the initiative—ask for feedback. Many organizations support the idea of continuous improvement. They know that people make mistakes and that things go wrong. They also know that identifying errors and problems is the first step in eliminating them in the future. If you adopt this thinking and ask people, “What could I have done better in that presentation?”, you’ll create a more objective, positive space in which feedback can be given and received. And you’ll also gain points as a person who is eager to improve and who knows how to take criticism.

Ask Clarifying Questions

Early in this chapter, we advised readers to be specific and avoid general statements in giving feedback to others. You need the same specific feedback when you’re on the receiving end. If you are not getting specifics, ask clarifying questions. For example, if a team member says, “Your work on the Johnson proposal could have been better,” respond with, “What specifically needed improvement?”

Open-ended questions can help you get the specifics you need. These are questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no.” They usually begin with “what,” “when,” or “how.” Another way to get specifics is to ask “Can you give me an example?” as in the following conversation between a manager and her subordinate during a performance review session:

Subordinate: “Yes, I’ve submitted some project reports that were incomplete, but some of your deadlines are, well, unrealistic, given the amount of work involved and the other things I’m responsible for doing.”

Manager: “That’s something I’d like to improve. Can you give me an example or two of projects where that was the case?”

Remember, the more specific feedback you can get, the more you’ll learn.

CLOSING THE FEEDBACK LOOP

Remember the definition of feedback? It is the process by which a system’s output (information) returns to its source so that future output can be regulated. The whole purpose of giving and receiving feedback is to change behavior so that performance improves. Be sure there is an action plan in place to assure that the necessary changes take place.

Provide the Necessary Tools

Be sure that the person receiving feedback has everything needed to change the desired behavior. Perhaps additional training is necessary, or a more flexible work schedule, or the assistance of another employee. So, if you’re giving feedback, make sure that the other person is equipped to act on your input. Conversely, if you have received feedback, don’t say, “Thanks for the suggestion—I’ll do that” without first checking to see that you have the resources needed to follow through.

Check in Periodically

The next time the task or function under discussion is performed, check to see if any problems have been addressed. If you were the recipient of the feedback this will make sure that you understand the problem and that your corrective actions are having an effect. This further shows your willingness to improve your workplace performance.

Checking in also provides an opportunity for both parties to fix any unforeseen glitches in the new method. For instance, let’s say that you were the manager in the previous example. Your subordinate has told you that you don’t always give her enough time to complete assigned projects. A week has gone by and you have two new reports you want her to take on. Once you’ve explained the reports, you might say something like this as a way of “checking in.”

“I know that you’ve had some concerns about the amount of time I’ve given you to complete reports like these. We talked about that last week. So I’m wondering about these. Ideally, I’d like the first drafts of these reports two weeks from today. How does that strike you? Does two weeks seem reasonable given your other duties? Tell me what you think.”

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of interpersonal communications in organizations. Improvement in this area will make you more valuable as an employee. The four characteristics of effective feedback are giving descriptive, not judgmental, feedback; focusing on modifiable, not unchangeable, behavior; dealing with specific problems, not general observations; and using good timing when approaching someone with constructive feedback. Good communicators recognize these characteristics and deliver feedback in the right settings, focusing on the right topics, and using the right words.

Good communicators understand how to receive as well as give feedback. They spend more time listening than talking—and they listen well. When they are receiving feedback, they ask probing, clarifying questions and give the person ample time to express him or herself. They go beyond receiving feedback to responding to it. If feedback is critical or negative they can deal with it because they are prepared for what’s coming. If feedback is general or unfocused, then ask for specifics.

Feedback should lead to improvements. In some cases, feedback is insufficient; it must be augmented with resources such as training. Both feedback giver and receiver should think about resource requirements. Finally, feedback givers should “check in” periodically to be sure that improvements are on track.