How to Build Constructive Feedback
Some may feel uneasy giving and receiving feedback, but doing so is essential for working as a team and pursuing professional excellence. To be successful, feedback should be constructive, rather than fruitless and unproductive.
A few things can be helpful to keep in mind when providing constructive feedback. In this piece, we will examine some crucial aspects to be considered. Remember that practice makes it perfect – what may appear hard at first will get easier with time, once you put it into action.
Have a goal in mind
Why are you giving someone feedback? Do you want them to adjust some part of their work despite it being generally satisfactory? You may believe they can benefit from a different perspective, or you want to acknowledge a job well done that can be carried over to other tasks. There are many reasons to provide feedback.
When doing so, it is important to have a goal in mind. The feedback should be focused on the future. Everything else is old news, so there’s on point in dwelling on it. The topics you discuss should prove helpful. Otherwise, what is the point? Setting a goal is a great way to ensure this.
It’s a two-way street
Turn your feedback into a conversation. Don’t assume you are right, and be open to understanding why the person who you are providing feedback to acted the way they did. Getting to know how someone thinks can lead to new insights on how to do things differently and innovatively.
It also lets us learn more about what drives other people’s line of thought, motivations, and organizational methods… which brings us to our next point.
Know who you are talking to
Everyone learns, evaluates and thinks in different ways. The more you know someone, the better you can engage with them. Endeavour to give your feedback in a personalized way, allowing you to make your point more effectively.
This can involve giving examples that relate to the current scenario, setting goals that motivate the person you are talking to, pointing to individual behavior patterns that can be helpful or should be reworked, and putting them in a context that makes sense for the task at hand.
Plan ahead
Giving constructive feedback means considering many factors, so don’t make it up on the spot. Carefully assemble the points you want to make, and organize your ideas so they’re efficient and easy to follow. An excellent way to do this is to make a flowchart that can provide a backbone for your speech.
Remember the positive
Negative feedback is necessary for improvement, although it is not always pleasant to hear. But good jobs should be highlighted too; this is a great and simple way to motivate others to do even better in the future. Make it public, if you can – receiving praise in front of one’s coworkers can boost confidence and inspire others to improve themselves.
Don’t get personal
Constructive feedback is all about the job in question. Focus on relevant work ethics and goals, and pay attention to your tone, making it clear that you want to improve results, not just criticize for the sake of it.
Timing is important. Don’t bring up something that the person did wrong seven months ago, since this will give the impression that you hold a grudge against them, and may be perceived as an individual attack. To avoid this, let’s move on to our penultimate tip…
Provide feedback in person
In this day and age, it can be tempting to do everything via email. When giving feedback, get out of your comfort zone and do it in person. When you look someone in the eyes, you make yourself more transparent and control how the message will be received. This will allow you to adapt your feedback as you read the room. It also demonstrates commitment in your team and creates a more accessible space for exchanging ideas (remember, it’s a two-way street).
Stay consistent
As we have seen, giving feedback is a key part of encouraging and improving teamwork. That’s why it should be a constant and regular presence in your schedule. Make feedback a natural occurrence, rather than a touchy subject.
Set a day of the week or month, and create a friendly and welcoming environment in which to provide feedback. You’ll get better at noticing what is working and what isn’t, and can adapt your methods to make the most of your constructive feedback.
