Feedback: How to give and receive feedback

Giving and receiving feedback can be fraught with problems, and managers often struggle to do either effectively. But the two-way process serves many valuable functions, and is one of the greatest skills we can develop.

As a manager, it lets you inform individuals about their performance - whether or not they are learning new skills, reinforcing their goals and motivating them to improve. Knowing how to receive feedback can also help you make the necessary changes to further your career faster, as well as understanding how you can be of more help to your team members with their personal growth.

Where do I start?

Prior to giving any kind of feedback, it is important to establish what the individual thinks about their work, so get them to carry out a self-assessment first. This will provide a firm basis for dialogue, and will also send out the message that the exercise is well-meant, even if some of the feedback is critical. It is also essential that you prepare in advance and know specifically what you want to say, as well as what you want to change or achieve. "If there are no clear goals, feedback is impossible to give or receive," says business consultant and writer, Ken Blanchard.

For your feedback to be effective, you need to be:

- Plain speaking: be specific about the action or behaviour you are referring to

- Descriptive and non-judgemental: give detailed examples and focus on the actions, not the individual

- Balanced: be sure to praise good work as well as pointing out areas that require improvement, as this way, it is more likely be accepted

- Constructive: suggest ways to improve the situation.

Perfect the art of feedback

Giving good feedback takes practice. Find someone who is an accomplished communicator and get them to coach you on your technique. Ideally, video yourself in action and ask them to review it with you afterwards.

Just-in-time feedback

Feedback shouldn't be confined to the straitjacket of an annual review or performance appraisal - the action or assignment being discussed may be a distant memory by then. It has the greatest impact when delivered on an ongoing basis.

"When you are praising somebody, praise them as soon after the event as possible," says Blanchard. "Be specific - tell them how you feel and encourage them to keep up the good work."

Also Bruce Tulgan, author of FAST Feedback (the acronym stands for Frequent, Accurate, Specific, Timely), recommends several 'accelerated' techniques for giving feedback. He says that managers can build feedback into routine meetings and memos, use short notes and also learn to deliver feedback through e-mail and voicemail. He suggests setting aside a designated period of time every day, just to give feedback.

Get feedback on your feedback

Be mindful that the impression you have of your performance and the effectiveness of the session may not correspond with the recipient's, so it is necessary to get their views to find out what you did well and where you could improve.

Remember the message, not the medium

If feedback is not forthcoming, don't be afraid to ask for it - but be aware that you might hear criticism as well as praise. Should you find yourself on the receiving end of negative feedback, readily accept it and ask for more specific information. This will demonstrate that you are being positive about the feedback (even if you don't agree with it) and are willing to learn from it.

Always divorce the content of the feedback from the giver - recognise that it has the potential to transform your personal development.

Where can I get more info?

Books

- FAST Feedback, Bruce Tulgan, Human Resource Development, £4.74, ISBN 0874254957

- The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, HarperCollins Business, £6.99, ISBN 007107927

- The Feedback Toolkit: 16 Tools for Better Communication in the Workplace, Rick Maurer, Productivity Press Incorporated, £6.35, ISBN 156320560

If you only do five things...

1 Be well prepared

2 Know what you want to say

3 Practice your technique beforehand

4 Check out your performance

5 Be prepared to hear negative feedback

Expert's view Ken Blanchard on giving and receiving feedback

Ken Blanchard is a business consultant and author. His books include the co-authored bestseller The One Minute Manager.

Do companies attach enough importance to training managers in giving and receiving feedback?

From my experience, few organisations teach how to give or receive feedback. It's an incredibly important skill that everyone should have. If feedback is the breakfast of champions, then everyone needs to know how to give and receive it.

What key skills do you require?

The ability to remember that people are okay, and that it's just their behaviour that may be a problem once in a while. Focus on the job they have either done well or not done well. But be as positive as possible. Try and focus on catching people doing something right.

What are the essential rules to follow when giving negative feedback?

First, you need to understand whether the problem is a skills issue or an attitude issue. If you know someone has the skill to perform a task but is not doing it, that's an attitude problem, and they need what I call a 'One Minute Reprimand'.

This should be delivered as quickly as possible and focus specifically on what they did wrong. For instance: 'You didn't get your report in on Friday.' Tell them how you feel - disappointed, upset or concerned - and then make sure you end the reprimand with a reaffirmation of your faith in their ability to do the job.

If it's a skills issue, they need redirection and practical support. I recommend redirection more often than reprimand, since most people today are in jobs that are changing so rapidly it's hard to become an expert in anything that you do.

What are common mistakes when giving or receiving feedback?

Too often, managers wait to praise people until they do something exactly right.

They should praise progress - it's a moving target. They also let feedback get personal when it should always be impartial.

When receiving feedback, the tendency is to go on the defensive. The correct response is to listen objectively and then, later, decide what response to make to the feedback you have been given.