The following entry from the 2014-2015 Teaching Issues Writing Consortium: Teaching Tips was contributed by Jodie Hemerda and Julie Frese, Ph.D., Director of Assessment and Academic Quality, University of the Rockies
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“To be effective, feedback needs to be clear, purposeful, meaningful, and compatible with students’ prior knowledge and to provide logical connections” (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, p. 104).
Task specific – feedback requires learning context and therefore needs to be task specific. There is no advantage to tangential conversations when providing feedback.
Self-regulation – feedback should encourage the learner’s self-regulation by enhancing self-efficacy and self-esteem. This concept corresponds with teaching learners how to learn.
Low task complexity – feedback should address tasks of low complexity. Goals should be broken down into manageable tasks, as this increases the effectiveness of feedback.
Timing – the timing of feedback is not as straight forward as some may think. Quick turnaround on the correctness of simple tasks benefits students. While students may prefer instantaneous feedback, the literature supports that task process feedback benefits from a delay where students have time to think about difficult tasks before receiving the feedback.
Praise – the most prevalent and least effective, praise disrupts the positive effects of feedback. It should be used cautiously, as students tend to enjoy private praise though it fails the need for task specificity.
Technology enhanced – used appropriately, technology has the ability to provide timely feedback, improve collaboration, increase social presence, increase dialogue, improve reflection, support learning principles, and increase student satisfaction. Consider using the technologies available at your school to optimize technology in providing students feedback.
Resources:
Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), pp. 81-112. doi: 10.3102/003465430298487 Retrieved from //rer.sagepub.com/content/77/1/81.full.pdf+html
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Giving feedback to an employee is never fun. And often, the employee’s immediate reaction is annoyance or shutting down, which is never great.
And yet, giving feedback is something all managers should do, as it’s essential to developing employees. The key, obviously, is giving feedback that is constructive.
“What's easy is to give someone feedback and have them walk away confused or even angry,” leadership guru Todd Dewett said in his LinkedIn Learning course, Delivering Employee Feedback. “If you want to be sure they hear you, understand you and feel properly motivated to use your feedback, there are several guidelines you'll want to follow.”
What are those guidelines, exactly? According to Dewett, here are the eight characteristics of effective constructive criticism:
1. All useful feedback is specific, not general.
Specific feedback is far more actionable than general feedback, and also far easier to deal with.
For example, don’t tell an employee they need to run their meetings more efficiently – that’s too broad. Instead, tell them to have an agenda sent out before each meeting and stick to it.
“The more specific your feedback, the more it will be understood and seriously considered,” Dewett said.
2. Effective feedback is descriptive and helpful, as opposed to evaluative and punitive.
Let’s say an employee turns in a report that has errors within it. In haste, you might be prone to criticism them for the errors and tell them it’s not up to standard.
But, taking a minute to be helpful can go a long way here. Describe the errors and ask them how they could avoid similar mistakes in the future, which effectively turns the criticism into a coaching session.
3. Own your feedback.
A classic move when giving constructive criticism is to pass the blame to someone who isn’t in the room or some unnamed force like “management.” That’s both weak and ineffective.
Instead, stand behind your criticism by saying things like “that’s how I see it” or “in my view.” This can be tough, but it’s essential for both showing and earning respect.
4. Good feedback address issues, not the person.
Don’t tell a person they are bad at writing reports. Instead, point out the errors within the report.
There’s a deeper psychological reason for doing this. If you tell someone they are bad at something, it reinforces a fixed mindset – you are innately bad at this task and there’s no getting around it. Conversely, if you describe their errors and have them fix it, it reinforces a growth mindset – you have the ability to excel at this task, you just need to learn a few key skills.
Over time, teams with growth mindsets drastically outperform a team with a fixed mindset. So, a little thing, but it can have a big impact.
5. Pick your spots and don’t give too much feedback to a person all at once.
Time and place. Generally, it's best to give a person feedback as soon as possible. But, if the person is stressed or frazzled or feeling down, it’s probably better to wait a day.
Along those lines, different people can handle different amounts of feedback. The last thing you want to do is give someone so much feedback that they lose all confidence in themselves; so instead, be strategic and pick the biggest issue or two.
6. Feedback should be a dialogue, not a monologue.
Great managers are great coaches, and this point speaks to that. Rather than telling a person all the things they did wrong, ask powerful coaching questions to help them work through the problem.
“For example, consider leading with a question,” Dewett said. “Such as, so, how do you feel the meeting went today? This allows them to open up and share their thoughts, thoughts that will help you refine your feedback right there on the fly. You'll need to offer your observations and advise, but they're best delivered as part of a two-way conversation.”
7. Good feedback is checked.
“That simply means that before your conversation is over, you want to inquire about what they heard, give them a chance to show you, in their own words, that the message was received,” Dewett said.
8. Effective feedback is followed up upon, not forgotten.
You don't want to give feedback and then never bring up the issue again. Instead, make a goal and track how the person is improving in that area, so their weakness transforms into a strength.
“If you feel that your feedback message is important enough to deliver, then it's important enough to follow up upon,” Dewett said.
The takeaway
Giving feedback is harder for a lot of managers than getting feedback themselves. There is a sense of guilt and it can be a generally awkward conversation, as few people enjoy pointing out someone’s flaws.
Following these rules can help with that. Because employee feedback can be a gift that can turn a good employee to a great one. So don’t be shy about giving feedback you believe in – just make sure you give it in the right way.
Want to learn more? Watch Dewett's course, Delivering Employee Feedback.
Feedbacks are appreciated only when they are good. Sometimes giving genuine feedback can create friction between you and your team. As a leader, it is your responsibility to enhance the qualities of your team members in order to get good results. There is always a necessity for feedback culture in the organization. For this, giving them proper feedback about their performance becomes mandatory. Here, constructive feedback plays an important role to boost your team members.
Delivering the feedback in the right way, in the right language does make things easy. Therefore, feedback is a perfect tool for the overall growth of your business. Then why do we find it difficult to deliver feedback?
The article will tell you about the importance and the essential qualities of giving effective feedback.
Why does feedback go wrong?
There are several reasons for wrong or negative feedback. One of the major reasons is strong emotions on both sides. Also, lack of clarity about the changes, more focus on the character rather than behavior are some other factors. But, above all the tone of your voice and body language can have a huge impact on the way it is received.
Karen Wright, a psychologist in Psychology Today said, “ What hurts most in negative feedback, then, isn’t the overt content of the message so much as the threat of exclusion, abandonment, and ostracism that accompanies it”
How to give effective feedback?
Feedback can have a large impact on the receiver. Now that we know, the importance and why the feedback goes wrong, it becomes important to understand how to give an effective feedback. Effective feedback needs to be specific, meaningful, and logical.
1. It should be specific
Jumbled feedback leads to misunderstandings. According to psychologist Victor Lipan, “ Feedback should have a clear business focus.” It should not be based on individual perceptions. All the personal grudges must be kept at bay. Effective feedback is important for a long-term goal instead of being generic.
2. Keep your feedback constructive
For example, telling someone they have failed in a particular task, will make the receiver feel there was no point in trying. This can lead to hostility. Rather than bursting on them, tell them, how to make this better, what is not working here, we can fix this together, etc.. It will encourage a growth-oriented mindset and build a strong relationship.
The problem should be presented with the solution. Provide your team members with tools that direct them in the right direction. Remember, actions have the power to change and indeed it is a very important part for effective feedback.
3. Effective feedback is always goal-oriented
Step by step you are getting a big picture and more clear idea about the importance of effective feedback. But do you know, feedback is not all about advice, praise, or evaluation? There is more to its core.
Author Grand Wiggin explains the importance of goal-oriented feedback by stating “ Effective feedback requires that a person has a goal, takes action to achieve the goal, and receives goal-related information about his or her actions”.
Feedback is advised to be to the point about the goal you have to achieve as an individual and a team. The feedback should consist of the points on how to work towards your goal and how you will achieve that particular goal.
4. Never criticize
Sometimes failure can leave them with the feeling of incapability. Therefore, keep in mind, never criticize the person, always criticize the action or their work. Effective feedback is always about one’s action.
Author Babauta explained it by saying “ Never criticize the person. Always criticize the actions and when you are making suggestions, make suggestions about action, not about the person. Keep the feedback informational and above all believe that your feedback has the power to change."
5. Be transparent about consequences
Not being transparent about the consequences of work is also not considered healthy feedback. This may lead to misconceptions among your team members. When you are working as a team, many times you can not resist negative consequences. So at that time it becomes necessary to tell your team about the consequences of the negative result and delayed work. At times mounting pressure is what makes things work.
6. Feedback should never be negative
For obvious reasons, negative feedback can damage your terms with the team. In case of negative feedback, giving effective feedback becomes tough. Therefore people remain quiet and prefer not to give any feedback. But this is not the solution! Make a frame in your mind about the things that need to be suggested to the person.
You can give feedback in the position of power. Although, if you have a fear of giving negative feedback, then elaborate your teammates about everything, before starting the project. How you frame the task in the first place can directly impact the feedback you receive.
7. The routine work
Giving effective feedback should be in your routine work, as a leader. Keep it simple and easy to understand for your team. If the work is done well never forget to appraise and if it is not done accordingly try to give constructive feedback with proper solutions.
Ed Batista, Executive Coach at Stanford Graduate School of Business explained it by saying “If you are having a feedback conversation every week, there is less to be surprised by and more opportunity to modify your behavior”.
Conclusion
Feedback is termed the biggest gift anyone can receive. It makes your team members happy, inspires change, and is powerful. The way learning is a big part of life so is effective feedback for any job. Sometimes it can be challenging and confusing. But it is an asset that will lead to a better team, better work, and obviously a better output.
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