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Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback

Jan 24

Feedback paves the way for self-awareness and helps people become mindful of the impact they are making through their words or actions. If a person does something good, it reinforces positive behavior. And where there is room for improvement, it motivates a person to do better.

People who are good at the art of giving and receiving feedback are more likely to succeed in life. This is especially true if you are a part of an organization. As an employee, you will constantly receive feedback from your manager and give feedback whenever appropriate. As a manager, you will frequently give feedback to your team members and receive feedback from them. With this in mind, it helps to learn how to properly give and receive feedback.

Giving effective feedback

Limit your feedback to important issues

Too much feedback given at a time can be overwhelming to the person receiving it. That is why it's important to prioritize your ideas and focus only on the most important issues. Imagine yourself as the recipient of the feedback, could you take action on it? 

 

Concentrate on the behavior

Don't give feedback on the person, but instead, concentrate on the behavior. Open the discussion by mentioning the action that is the subject of the feedback. Describe how you feel about it and end with suggestions for improvement. Instead of saying, "you obviously don't care about completing the task," you can say "I'm worried that you have not started the task yet and we might miss the deadline, can we meet to discuss it?"

Balance your feedback

The "sandwich approach" is a popular method of giving feedback as it does not focus on the negatives alone. It begins by providing positive comments to identify and reinforce the positive things that the recipient is already doing, followed by feedback on areas to improve and ends with another positive feedback. 

 

Be timely

It's important that your feedback is timely because if it's delayed for too long, it loses its impact. Not only that, delayed feedback can also cause a feeling of resentment or guilt on the part of the recipient if the opportunity for improvement has already passed. 

Offer support

Feedback should be a continuous process and not just a one-time event. After giving your feedback, make a conscious effort to help the person in creating action plans and let them know that you are available if they have questions or if they need assistance.

 

 

Receiving feedback 

 

Listen to the person giving feedback

When receiving feedback, hear the person out and do not interrupt so that you can understand what the other person is saying. You can't absorb the feedback if you are being defensive and planning on your response afterwards. When you listen, you can better understand the feedback. Ask questions when necessary and take note of the important key points.

 

Be aware of how you respond

Attentiveness is important when receiving feedback. Your tone of voice and body language often speak louder than your actual words. To avoid sending negative messages to the person giving feedback, avoid raising your voice and looking bored, angry or distracted. Attentiveness is a big factor to convey a message that you value and appreciate the feedback. Moreover, if you are in a team, it's a good idea to ask the input of others before responding to the feedback.

Be open

If you are close-minded, there is no space for other ideas and feedback. It's good to hear the viewpoint of others so that you can have a point of comparison to what you are already doing. It also helps you gain new ideas and learn new things.

 

Reflect on the feedback and decide your next step

Feedback will not be useful unless you do something about it. If you disagree with the feedback, you can ask for another opinion from someone else. Sometimes, you may need to follow up on feedback, and if this is the case, you can set up another meeting to discuss it.



Giving and receiving feedback may not be a pleasant experience but they are necessary for growth and development. If you find it challenging to give and receive feedback, we at Change Works can help you. We offer a program specifically designed for giving and receiving feedback.