Positive feedback

As most people, I was never very good at recognizing people’s efforts or saying a kind word whenever they showed some progress. In time I realized I had to leave my comfort zone in order to obtain better results.

I think that most people have trouble giving positive feedback. I know I do. However when you’re leading a team of people, be it a design team, your family or people working with you in any other endeavor, you really need to learn to acknowledge even the smallest efforts for improvement.

Why?

Well, who doesn’t want to be acknowledged and not taken for granted? Don’t you want to be? Don’t you get a little spring in your step when someone says something positive about you?

Would you agree with me if I said that positive feedback can largely increase your team’s productivity?

Well, that’s old news, yet I see too many professionals and managers who avoid it.


But what is positive feedback?

It is the action of telling somebody effectively that what they’re doing is acknowledged and recognized.

That’s pretty simple, isn’t it?

Not quite. You see, saying “good job” to someone doesn’t bear the same connotation to actually stating what it was they did well and its impact.


So how to go about it?

There are many resources on the Web about this subject and several ways to use it. Here’s my take on it:

When you spot something that someone has done, when you catch yourself thinking “hey, that’s pretty good”, every single time, even if it’s something small, follow the next steps:


Step 1: State the time.
The specific time in which the person did something well. The phrase should start with their name, followed by an expression of time.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning…”
“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x…”.
Be as precise as possible.


Step 2: State the action.
The actual thing they did. The fact.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning when you delivered the sketches on time…”
“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x you supported the concept we were presenting with the items you brought…”.


Step 3: State the impact.
On the operation, how what they did affects the results positively and how it makes you feel.

E.g. “Hey, John, this morning when you delivered the sketches on time, it proved to me that I can trust you with deadlines, that you’re a professional and that you care about what you do”.

“John, yesterday during the meeting with customer x you supported the concept we were presenting with the items you brought, which allowed the customer to visualize the project more effectively and made me feel very proud that you’re on our team”.


See, if you’re this specific when giving feedback it has a bigger impact on the person and encourages them to keep striving to be better.

I still struggle a bit with it, it doesn’t come as natural as I’d like, but I’ve found that giving positive feedback builds up relationships and contributes to a more effective and productive work environment.

Care to try this at home, as well?

All the best!