BRX Pro Tip: 4 Ways to Give Useful Feedback
Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, feedback is an important part of any business, certainly in our arena. What are some things we ought to keep in mind and make a point of doing or not doing when it comes to giving feedback?
Lee Kantor: Now, when I went through Seth Godin’s altMBA program, we spent a lot of time on giving useful feedback, and we were required every day whenever we had an assignment that we had to give feedback, and we were taught how to give feedback that’s useful. And you couldn’t do things like great job, you know, or thumbs up. Like that wasn’t feedback, you know. And that’s where a lot of people, I think they err on the side of, you know, skimming over something and then just giving them a thumbs up and saying thanks and then moving on.
Lee Kantor: But to give feedback that’s useful to the person who’s asking, number one, is you have to be specific and clear. You have to focus on specific behaviors rather than generalization. This helps the recipient understand exactly what they did well or what needs improvement.
Lee Kantor: Number two is focusing on solutions. Encourage a solution-oriented mindset by discussing how to improve, rather than solely pointing out what the problem was. And ask questions like what can we do different next time, things like that, to just focus in on the solutions.
Lee Kantor: And number three is try to make it a two-way conversation. You know, encourage dialog by asking for the recipient’s perspective on the feedback. This promotes a collaboration and understanding and helps get a better outcome for the person asking for the feedback, which is what they’re trying to do.
Lee Kantor: And then think feedforward rather than feedback. Instead of focusing in on past behaviors, offer suggestions for future improvements. This shifts the conversation from what went wrong to how they can do better next time.
Lee Kantor: And by employing these kind of techniques, you can provide constructive feedback that’s clear, actionable, and supportive, and ultimately fostering a positive environment for growth and improvement.
