Week 12: Constructive Feedback
Encourage supporters to provide constructive feedback to contribute to continuous improvement.
“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
– Elon Musk
Constructive feedback plays a pivotal role in fostering growth, development, and collaboration in the workplace. It serves as a valuable tool for enhancing individual and team performance, promoting accountability, and building a culture of continuous improvement. This article explores the importance of constructive feedback, strategies for delivering effective feedback to subordinates, peers, and leaders, and guidelines for identifying appropriate feedback opportunities.
Sources for this article:
Noar S. M., Harrington N.G., Aldrich R.S. (2009). The Role of Message Tailoring in the Development of Persuasive Health Communication Messages. Annals of the International Communication Association, 33(1).
Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business Review Press.
Understanding Constructive Feedback.
Constructive feedback delivers improvement to the recipient to assist their performance, skill, or behavior. Unlike criticism, which focuses on pointing out faults or shortcomings, constructive feedback is framed positively and offers actionable insights for growth and development. It emphasizes specific observations, provides suggestions for improvement, and fosters open dialogue between parties. It requires empathy to understand the message, delivery, and benefit.
Constructive feedback works when you know your audience. You must understand who you are addressing to be constructive. Supporters who focus on pointing out problems to the incorrect person do as much time-wasting as a person who only criticizes without relevant improvements. It takes an effective supporter to understand the right feedback and who should receive it. It also takes situational understanding to know how to relay feedback to the correct person and when it is an appropriate time.
I have struggled many times to provide constructive feedback in my life. It could be from seeing the writing on the wall before others could, or me not communicating effectively. When I provided good feedback, it sometimes still fell on deaf ears as they were either not ready to hear it or could not understand my message. Leaders and supporters must know when to press an issue, with suggestions, to a person at the right time. Timely and accurate constructive feedback is a key element of coaching and mentorship (Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A., 2013). We all have bad days, and a quality supporter understands when their communication is needed.
Delivering Constructive Feedback to Those Who Support You.
Before providing feedback, build a foundation of trust and rapport with your supporters. Establishing a supportive and non-judgmental environment encourages openness and receptivity to feedback. Edmondson, A. C. (2019) provides insight into developing “psychological safety” as a way to increase comfort to learn and grow. The conclusion is that this is developed by leaders and is not personality-driven. Supporters, however, can assist simply by asking “a good question … actively listening … reminding the team what they are up against” (Edmondson, A. C., 2019).
Incorporate a balance of positive reinforcement and constructive criticism in your feedback. Acknowledge the subordinate's strengths and accomplishments before addressing areas for improvement, promoting a growth-oriented mindset. In my first speech class, this was called the sandwich method. Provide feedback with a positive-negative-positive as a way to not focus on just the negative. Remember that constructive feedback isn’t focused on addressing what was wrong but on building responsibility to empower your supporters to improve.
Remember that angry, destructive, or insulting feedback will shut down your supporters. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013) discuss dissonance in the workplace as a quick way to make your message hard or impossible to hear. Leaders who are toxic, abrupt, and lack empathy cause a “telltale trail of demotivation and apathy, anger, and resentment” (Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A., 2013). Don’t create low-energy supporters through disgraceful actions and words.
Providing Constructive Feedback to Peers.
Before offering feedback to a peer, seek their permission to ensure receptivity and respect for their autonomy. Approach the conversation with humility and a genuine desire to support their growth. You catch more flies with honey is the colloquialism that comes to mind. Remind yourself why you need to provide this feedback and how it will benefit your peer. This will also assist you with the concept of discussing the feedback appropriately.
Frame your feedback using the "I" statement to express your observations and reactions without placing blame or judgment on the peer. Focus on the impact of their actions or behavior rather than making assumptions about their intentions. It is quite easy to perceive issues that are not correct. This also sets an example of owning responsibility, I am part of the discussion and solutions. When you are direct and upfront, it limits the ambiguity that can lead to uncertain outcomes or actions.
Instead of merely pointing out areas for improvement, offer constructive suggestions and support to help your peer address challenges and develop new skills. Collaborate on identifying actionable steps for growth and follow up on progress. When your peer understands that you are together in the solution, they are more likely to join in the discussion. Also, this is a great step to show your empathetic approach in your feedback rather than straight criticism. Put the construction in constructive feedback.
Providing Constructive Feedback to Leaders.
Identify opportune moments to offer feedback to leaders, such as during one-on-one meetings or performance reviews. I have seen too many people give feedback after a leader's decision is made. This is not the time to challenge their authority. Great supporters use a separate time or moment, usually private, to ensure the feedback is timely, relevant, and aligned with the leader's development goals. This allows the leader to change their mind and remain in charge of the operational direction.
Approach the conversation with a positive and constructive mindset, emphasizing your intention to support the leader's growth and success. Highlight their contributions and the support you have for their decisions before addressing areas for refinement. Supporters will need to understand the authorities and responsibilities that allow them to provide proper feedback. You might refer to this as staying in your lane. It serves you little effect to discuss things that you are not an expert on in the eyes of that leader.
Foster an open dialogue with leaders, encouraging them to reflect on their leadership style, decision-making processes, and communication strategies. I have discovered that approaching a leader as a mentoring opportunity opens them up to discuss a much broader range of topics. Try to invite them to solicit feedback from others and to consider all opinions. You can achieve more through open dialogue. It allows you to move from a complainer to a supporter.
To learn more, join our discussions and help support these topics to help others improve their ability to support leaders in any environment.
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