Don’t be lazy – Give Specific Feedback!
Imagine you check in with a remote team member in your own team and you give them feedback during your 1:1
“I hear a lot of good things about how you engaged our new customer over the past weeks. Congrats and well done on that!”
Is this already a good way to share feedback?
Not really.
The feedback statement shows no evidence that the feedback-giver has spent any small effort obtaining it. It is not specific and can be said without any knowledge or actual interest. I call this lazy feedback.
One alternative?
“I heard good things about how you engaged our new customer over the past weeks! What I hear and see is that you reflect and confirm at the beginning of most comms what their current needs are. I noticed that it prompted you to re-adjust twice based on that, which helped you build trust with them. Nice!”
See the difference?
Two principles to remember:
1. If feedback could be given to a dog (“well done!”), it’s not good enough. It likely creates little more than a momentary spike.
2. How much time do you spend preparing POSITIVE feedback? If it is much less than what you spend on preparing a criticism, you are likely wasting the potential impact of focused, positive reinforcement.
Let’s not be lazy!
Maik Frank
Maik is a PCC Executive Coach and the founder of IntelliCoach.com. He has coached and trained over 400 People Leaders to improve their communication skills and offers guaranteed measurable growth to his clients. He also hosts the Coaching Leader Podcast.
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