If the idea of feedback, or worse, performance reviews, triggers fear or loathing in employees, then something is tragically wrong.
People are smart. They know when they have done a great job, and they know when they have missed the mark. They should look forward to praise and fine tuning when they are amazing, and constructive help when something goes poorly.
The most important aspect of delivering positive feedback is being situationally aware and “catching” coworkers doing the right thing on a daily basis.
As a leader, do you know what your team is doing on a daily basis, and are you paying attention to what is going well? It’s impossible to give positive feedback, or any real feedback, if you don’t know what is happening on your team.
So as leaders, let’s review how to give effective, specific, actionable feedback for top performers, strugglers, and everyone in between.
Steps for Effective Positive Feedback
What is the point of giving feedback? The objective of feedback should be to help an individual to improve performance in their job. To Improve.
1. Coaching “in the moment.”
A sales assistant handles a customer beautifully, an account executives hits it out of the park on a sale, a leader handles a tricky interpersonal situation perfectly and at their semi- or annual review, their leader says, “remember when you… Great job!”
And they say, “No, I don’t remember, but thanks.”
Was that effective positive feedback? It was positive. But completely ineffective.
Waiting days, weeks, even months to “catch someone doing well” is useless and may be worse than saying nothing at all because, while you confirmed that you were paying attention, you also confirmed that their good behavior was not worthy of praise at the time.
Tip #1 – Look out for good behavior and praise right away. This applies to everyone, at every level of an organization, any skill level, any performance.
2. Give Specific Recognition
When you catch someone being awesome, think about a few specific things you can call out.
Generic praise generally leads to more questions. “Was that praise sincere or were they “ticking a box”? What exactly were they praising? Are they praising everyone for that?”
Be specific. “I saw you do A, B, and C, and I appreciated it because…”
Be intentional in finding positive feedback for the people around you. If they respond quickly, appreciate their responsiveness. If they admit to a mistake, appreciate their honesty.
Tip#2 – Be Specific and intentional in praising others.
3. Create a Dialogue
If you do all the talking, it feels good to you, but might make the person you are giving feedback to feel talked at instead of talked to.
Ask for their input. If they had a great sale, ask them what went well and what could they do more of the next time to repeat that success?
Encourage them to look for repeatable patterns in their success and create a plan for future success.
Tip #3 – Make the conversation all about them, draw them out and actively listen.
4. Learn the Type of Recognition People Want
Everyone loves getting the same recognition, right?
Wrong. People are unique, and the type of recognition they need is unique as well. So, ask.
When you are amazing, who should hear about it? What type of recognition is most meaningful to you? Make a note and put this into practice.
Tip #4 – Personalize your feedback.
Effective Constructive Feedback
Life isn’t all rainbows, puppies and unicorns. Everyone on your team is human, and humans make mistakes. Being a good leader means helping others see and correct those mistakes.
1. Don’t Wait, But Don’t be Hasty
An AE has a truly bad client call. Everything went wrong and there was no salvaging the conversation. Your thoughts will be invaluable in helping to diagnose what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
It’s important to review your notes and think through how to approach. Find something positive to say and then ask how they thought the call went. They know it went wrong, but do they have the self-insight to know why?
They may not. Share your observations. Did you notice how the client reacted? Next time, what could you do differently? This is a coaching moment. And then create a plan to make the next call go well.
Tip #1 – Timing is everything. Take a few moments to prepare to coach, but coach while the issue is top of mind.
2. Be Aware of Your Biases
An interpersonal issue arises between team members. You have thoughts.
Clearly one side is right and the other wrong. But interpersonal issues are never black and white. Remember the old adage, “There’s my side, your side, and the truth.”
Tip #2 – When constructively coaching, take yourself out of the equation. Instead, ask questions. Did you notice that people looked uncomfortable? How could you have reacted differently? What would have been a better outcome?
3. Construct your coaching calls like a sales call
- What is your Valid Business Reason (what’s in it for this person when they modify their behavior)
- What is your Specific Business Goal (what are you trying to accomplish, what is the end goal you are trying to achieve)
- What is your agenda to get from A to B? (How will you walk this person through the steps to achieve the goal?)
Tip #3 – Create a plan that will give your struggler reasons to improve and steps on how to improve. And then ask for their agreement.
Everyone craves praise and feedback. Top Performers can never get enough. People who are struggling give up if they get no positive feedback. And leaders typically get little and often no positive feedback and encouragement. So, find something positive in everyone and go for it.
Pic designed by bluejeanimages for Envato Elements.
Tirzah Thornburg is a Senior Talent Analyst at The Center for Sales Strategy, where she’s coached sales people and managers since 2007.