Most
people aren’t good at giving feedback to another person even when it’s
positive. We miss a great opportunity to
motivate others when we do a poor job of providing positive feedback which everyone
likes to get. Why do so many people do
such a dismal job in providing positive feedback? I believe it is because they simply don’t
know how to correctly give it. Yes, they
provide the other person with feedback and it is positive, but for some reason
the receiver of the feedback doesn’t feel motivated by it. Why not?
Usually it is because our feedback is too generic and brief.
Let me
give you an example. Bill is Mary’s
supervisor and several weeks ago he asked Mary to give him a written proposal
by a specific date on a new product they were thinking about selling. Mary gave the proposal to Bill as requested
and a few days later he calls her into his office and says, “Mary, I finished
reading through your proposal this morning and I wanted to thank you for a job
well done. You did a good job with the
proposal and it was precisely what I needed, thank you.” Mary will most likely leave Bill’s office
feeling good about his comments which were all very positive. Bill believes he’s done a good job of giving
Mary feedback on the proposal and appropriately thanking her for her work
product. Did he? I think Bill missed a
great opportunity to truly motivate Mary and to provide her with specific
feedback that encourages and rewards the desired performance behaviors.
Bill
should have used the opportunity to provide Mary with some specific feedback
that motivates her to do an even better job on her next assignment. Let’s replay the conversation with Mary, but
with Bill providing very targeted feedback this time. “Mary, I finished reading through your
proposal this morning and I wanted to give you some feedback, do you have a few
minutes? First, let me thank you for
getting the proposal to me two days early which shows great initiative on your
part and it gave me a few extra days to think it over. Second, I really appreciate the thought that
you put into the proposal. It is
extremely well written and very logically organized. I particularly liked the executive summary
you put at the beginning of the proposal.
The summary gave me a brief and concise overview of what was in the
proposal as well as several options for us to consider for selling the product along
with your recommendation. I also liked
the way you thoroughly reviewed each option within the proposal including the
pluses and minuses of each one. Mary,
the proposal is a great example of doing completed staff work and it is nice
knowing we can count on you to when we need a proposal to be done. Thanks for doing such a thorough job on this
proposal and I’m pleased to inform you we are accepting your recommendation and
adding the product to our catalog next month.”
I suspect
Mary walked (floated) out of Bill’s office with her chin held high and a smile
on her face and feeling like she just hit a home run. Bill’s feedback in the latter example was
very specific and he pointed out exactly what he liked about her proposal which
helps reinforce the behaviors he wants as well as clarifies in Mary’s mind what
he expects in any proposal. It would
have taken Bill only about 45 seconds longer to provide this expanded feedback,
but I guarantee you he done so that it would have had a much more motivating
impact on Mary. It doesn’t take a lot of
positive feedback to make a lasting impact.
So next time you want to give someone good feedback, give them an extra
Tablespoon’s worth (TBSP) and you will be amazed at how well they respond.
T = Timely. Feedback
should always be as close to the event as possible. The longer you wait to provide feedback, the
less effective it will be.
B = Behavioral Keep your feedback focused on
the person’s behaviors not the person.
Behaviors should be observable, tangible events.
S = Specific Keep your feedback
very specific and targeted. Very vague
and general feedback is not helpful.
P = Positive Since our focus is on
positive feedback; be sure that it is.
Try this
simple approach the next time you want to give someone positive feedback. You will be glad you did and so will the
other person.
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