A culture of growth begins with feedback, both positive praise and constructive criticism.
Unfortunately, when most people think about feedback, they usually associate it with the negative and/or corrective. For example:
- Don’t talk about next quarter in the meeting.
- Why did you talk about lower sales’ projections?
- You should have said “Let me look into that!”
But for truly effective feedback, it needs to include both the positive and negative.
Praise
Let’s start with praise, which comes naturally to some people. They know just what to say to the team, as well as when and how. Yet anyone can learn the skill and apply it.
To start, praise identifies what was done well, and this provides the blueprint for future wins. In other words, we identify actions and successes to be repeated.
Next, it also provides a positive feedback loop. Everyone feels motivated by positive recognition of their work. As a result, praise leads to performance improvements, which leads to more praise, which leads to even higher performance, and on and on.
One word of caution, though: Praise needs to be authentic and sincere. If we dole out “Good job!” and “Great!” and “I believe in you!” all of the time, regardless of the effort put in or the results, the comments lose any meaning. Similarly, if the work output doesn’t meet expectations, then it too will sound false.
Pro point!: It’s not always easy to accept feedback.
The person might disagree, feel attacked, or react with irritation or anger. But it becomes easier when leaders are also receptive to feedback. It should flow up, down, and around.
Constructive Criticism
Now let’s look at criticism, which comes in the form of advice or commentary on mistakes, poor performance, or when some action needs improvement. Collaborative and supportive teams don’t view constructive criticism as negative because it serves as an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.
That said, it is a negative if the problems are the fault of the manager. For example:
A junior member of the team heads a quarterly business review, but has very little experience in doing so. The manager didn’t check in and give advice, and as a result, the team member doesn’t address many of the key concerns or data points. The mistake lies with the manager because task relevant maturity wasn’t considered.
And don’t forget to always practice supportive communication.
Blueprint for Effective Feedback
For feedback to be effective, there are three key points to consider:
- Be specific: Clearly identify the specific actions or contributions, as these become readily understood and actionable in the future. Also, in an effort to soften the criticism, we may inadvertently water down the negative to the point that there is no meaning or it’s unclear.
- Maintain Balance: If someone struggled through a difficult task or project, pair praise with guidance. If someone easily completed the task / project, there is no need to congratulate on a job well done. The person knows that it was easy, which means the praise will just sound false.
- Make It Actionable: Whenever possible, ensure any feedback provides actionable insights. It’s important to understand the specific successes to repeat and the specific failures to avoid going forward.
Wrapping Up
Learning to balance praise and criticism when providing feedback leads to high-performing teams. Each discussion should be seen as an opportunity to improve the relationship, not simply correct a problem.
Until next week, enjoy the sunshine!