Six Qualities of Good Feedback
Regardless of what you do for a living, at some point you will have to tell what you think about someone else’s work. At first glance, the review may seem simple. However, when you’re in a quandary – whether it be to share your thoughts on a new website design or a colleague in a 360 review – the moments when we’re asked for feedback can be difficult.
This post was originally published on The Crew Blog .
Giving great feedback is a fundamental job skill. So why do so many of us suck? And how can we improve?
Negative or positive feedback
Most of us try to always be positive about our feedback. After all, positive comments are more useful than negative comments, right? Even if we cannot criticize or gloss over our criticism, we usually place any negative comments between the compliment and another high note.
It turns out that providing good, actionable reviews is not a black and white process. In fact, many studies have shown that positive feedback isn’t the best way to get results, and negative feedback isn’t really that bad.
One study found that those who are considered experts in their field are interested in hearing how they can get better, even if this feedback may be perceived as negative, while people who are still learning their profession demand more praise.
As the authors of How Positive and Negative Feedback Motivate Goal Pursuit, explain:
“Anticipating a problem in meeting the deadline at work on time, a newcomer is more likely to seek positive feedback that confirms her belief that he can meet the deadline, while an expert will most likely seek negative feedback that will help him not go astray and overcome further distractions. “
Another behavioral study found that too much praise also does not improve academic performance. When a group of students were consistently praised, the study showed that they did not understand what was required of them in order to continue to progress and grow.
The trick is to find the right balance between positive and negative feedback. Any negative feedback should be clear and timely, but not so harsh as to be regarded as criticism. And when it comes to positive feedback, you need to make sure it doesn’t overshadow any key negative points that need to be addressed.
Six aspects of great feedback
So how do we improve our feedback and find a balance between constructive, positive feedback and factual criticism without being harsh? Here are six helpful tips.
1. Be specific
We all respond better when we receive specific feedback. Saying something like, “You need to talk more as a team,” may sound clear, but in reality it is ambiguous and difficult to quantify for both you and your colleague.
Instead, something like “I would like you to provide a weekly update on your views on our growth at our team meeting,” is much clearer and helps the person receiving the feedback understand exactly what you are asking of them.
Non-specific feedback leads to delays and misunderstandings. In short, specific feedback, things are definitely going much smoother.
2. Be prompt
The best feedback is instantaneous and comes while all the details are fresh in your mind. If you wait too long to let someone know that you think their performance could improve, that may have less impact and make it harder to know exactly what needs to be changed.
It’s easy to let feedback slip through the web in a busy world where hundreds of messages, notifications, and tasks vie for our attention at any given moment.
To solve this problem, I started scheduling times on my calendar to provide feedback when needed. If I can’t quit right away to give feedback, I take the next 15-30 minute break and set a reminder to do so.
Scheduling weekly checks with your team can also help make feedback part of your daily routine, ensuring that no one is left to wait.
3. Link feedback to goals
As director Casey Neistat often says in his vlogs, “You can’t score without a goal.” This is especially true when it comes to feedback.
Without tying your feedback to a direct target, the wires cross over and the target is lost. Saying “You should focus less on improving your code” will not help your developer understand why you are giving this kind of feedback.
A better example – one that more clearly reflects your intent and goals – would be: “We need to ship this update by next week, you need to make sure the code works first and we can tidy it up after release.”
This gives the recipient a clear goal to work on and the reason you gave him this feedback.
4. Make sure your feedback is up to date
Ensuring effectiveness is just as important as linking feedback to goals.
Take this post for example. When I sent the first draft to Crew editor Jory McKay, there were a couple of issues with the language used throughout the post. It wasn’t straightforward enough. Jory’s feedback was great and helped me develop his point of view. His email read:
“One stylistic problem I found throughout the post was the lack of active voice and direct speech.
Don’t be afraid to make bold statements or say something bluntly. Instead of saying “X calls Y”, say “X calls Y”. It makes the post more authoritative and gives it more meaning. “
If I were to simply say, “The post lacks an active voice and direct language,” I would be a little confused about how to act with this feedback to improve the post.
The fact that I was told how I can proceed allowed me to re-read the post from a new perspective and make some changes that ( hopefully ) improved its reading.
5. Use the correct language
Language is the lifeblood that influences behavior. The right words can push someone to a higher level of performance and improve focus. On the other hand, choosing the wrong words can have the opposite effect and slow down progress.
At Pixar animation studio, they found a way to solve this problem with a technique they called plussing .
Plus is a way to give feedback and criticism without inducing fear or negative feelings. Imagine the art director giving feedback to the animator about some sketches for the next Pixar blockbuster, and instead of saying something like “but the characters are not expressing correctly,” they will use more inspirational and creative words like “and” or ” what if.”
Thus, using the addition “but the expression of the characters is wrong” would turn into “what if we could make their expression more expressive (enthusiastic, arrogant, etc.)”.
6. Don’t avoid it
It’s all too easy to avoid feedback, especially if you know it will generate negative feedback. The irony is that without feedback (negative or positive), you’re not going anywhere.
As bestselling author Nora Roberts said :
“If you don’t get what you want, you will never get it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t take a step forward, you will always be in the same place. “
We are all a little afraid of being rejected and getting negative reviews about ourselves, and in most cases, feedback is put off as a way to avoid conflict.
The irony is that when feedback is provided openly and honestly, it can be extremely valuable to your organization. Just look back on your career and think about the times when you have given or received truthful, constructive feedback and how it has helped you grow.
Without good, quality feedback, team and organization members are out of sync and don’t perform at their best. Honest, effective, and timely feedback is the only way to achieve outstanding results.
These six tips will help you improve your feedback. Give it a try and you’ll be surprised how much good feedback can have on your team.
6 qualities of good feedback | Crew