Strong Feedback = Strong Teams
5 steps to focus your feedback on work and behavior
Your team has been working weekends and late nights. The deadline to release is approaching and everyone is under pressure. You notice a mistake made by a colleague. You have to address it, because not doing so will impede functionality, but the conversation might be unpleasant.
Some of us try to avoid adding more stress to an already stressful situation by attempting to fix things ourselves without raising to the original contributor. Others of us have no trouble addressing the mistake, but we struggle with the tact and empathy needed and our strength can cause the other person to shut down.
Regardless of which side of the feedback dilemma you find yourself, the solution is the same: Utilize a strong and effective feedback framework.
What’s in it for me??
Effective feedback is the ability to address an individual who is exhibiting behaviors that need to change. It’s not shaming anyone, or judging their character, it’s simply a gentle but firm adjustment to behavior.
When a team has an effective feedback framework, these adjustments are made on the fly and with very little friction or triggers to the ego.
It’s not just a helpful addition to our team dynamic, it is an essential part of operating a highly successful team.
Here are a few of the benefits of effective feedback:
Members on the team know exactly what is required of them and are clear on whether or not they are achieving this.
Issues are addressed early on and resentment and poor habits never fully develop.
Anyone can give an assessment, bottom up or top down, giving each team member a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Hard things can be spoken about plainly, removing confusion and saving lots of time and effort.
Building a framework:
Focus on work and behavior over judgment
At Clevertech, our standard for feedback delivery is inspired by Fernando Flores’ essays “Conversations for Action” and is one of the most powerful tools in our training curriculum. When everyone understands the framework and how to use it, conversations become more concise, meaningful feedback can be delivered, and identifying the next action step becomes clear.
The heart of the assessment framework consists of five steps that focus feedback on the work and behavior of the person rather than pass judgment on their character. These steps require slowing down, presenting facts, and sitting in a discussion with the other person to understand what’s really going on.
The Feedback Framework:
Create a common language
Schedule a time
Give an opinion and present facts
Get the other recipient’s thoughts
Create the future
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Create a common language
Before you can use this framework everyone needs to understand and adopt it as the common language. Our leadership training teaches this framework, and gives a safe space for role playing and practicing. Our coaches and leaders also reinforce this language.
The same word can mean different things to each person, defining our terms allows us to be certain that what we are saying is what the other person is hearing.
One of the words we have built a shared meaning around is “assessment”.
To us, it means that feedback is coming in the form of our feedback framework, and we don’t have to qualify anything. We don’t have to waste time saying “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble, I just have to share something that will make you better in the long run, but it can be a conversation, I also want to hear what you have to say!” All of that, and more, is rolled up into that one word : Assessment. We have defined it in our company culture, and now it’s a quick way to communicate a complex idea.
This allows teams to put more of their energies toward our client’s goals, getting more done rather than figuring out how to talk to one another.
Schedule a time
“I have an assessment for you, is now a good time?” Be direct with your ask and allow the other person to agree or propose another time. This allows for the other person to collect themselves and agree to a time. It’s important for both parties to be prepared and undistracted.
Give the assessment with grounding
Giving an assessment brings the other person into your perspective and asks them what theirs might be.
We can only see the world through our own eyes, but it is our responsibility to be open to other view points also being valid. A great way to do this is to share what you think might be happening and give reasons for why you think that.
The first part is your opinion, the second part are the facts that are informing your opinion. Both are necessary. The facts are true, but your opinion based on the facts might not be. We hold the facts firmly, and we are open to our opinion being correct, or maybe not.
Get the other recipient’s thoughts (discussion)
Now we invite the other person to share their perspective. Giving feedback should always be a discussion, not a dissertation. There might be questions about the feedback or more information about what happened. The point is to discuss what might be missing from the whole picture, not to “win” or figure out who is right.
Create the future
After both sides have had a chance to discuss, it’s time to create a plan with action steps for the future. “Now that we both understand what is going on here, how do we resolve the behavior that is not effective? What needs to change? What future do we want?”
Pro tip: It might be better come up with an action plan at a later time.
Effortless and effective feedback
“If it’s too difficult, it’s probably wrong.” One of my devs told me this gem of advice today. It is true with code (keep it simple) and it’s true with humans. Giving effective feedback doesn’t have to be complicated, but often times, keeping things simple takes effort, intention and skill.
By implementing these five steps : Creating common language, setting a time, giving an opinion and asserting facts, inviting discussion and co-creating the future, we can begin to create a culture of feedback that is strong enough to adjust unhelpful behavior without being so strong that it shatters confidence or trust.