Meaningful feedback in the workplace — giving and getting it

Readers were interested in learning more about strengthening workplace communication. Today’s lesson focuses on giving meaningful feedback; while getting meaningful feedback is the topic for next week’s lesson. Today, we’ll focus primarily on performance feedback.

Let’s bottom-line this from the start. I’d generally rate managers as poor to midland/middling (I have been longing to use that phrase) at giving and getting feedback. But, Prof, you say, why grade so harshly?

Two reasons. First, I did a quick scan of the top communication challenges at work from at least 10 different credible business sources. Feedback was frequently in the top five on everyone’s list. Add to that what I have observed or experienced over the years and here we are.

My gross overgeneralization — we are careless in how we give feedback and we are unresponsive in how we use feedback (more on the latter next week).

Careless feedback

I see three ways we are careless. First, we confuse our feedback-giving role with permission to be careless in how we deliver feedback. Second, we are good at supervising the feedback process but not so good at coaching the process. And, third, we frequently are onesided (as in negative) in the feedback we give.

Let’s look at each.

I think we often are careless in the way we frame feedback. In fact, I don’t think we frame it at all. I think we simply spew whatever we think needs to be said without regard to how it lands. Also, we tend to overexaggerate our importance as managers to justify unfiltered feedback.

Two reasons this is a problem. It’s not nice! The targets of our feedback are human beings with feelings. The second reason is, no matter how on point it is, feedback that is carelessly delivered is not heard because the recipient has shut down. If you have any doubts, how well do you listen to people who are rude to you?

Next, we are careless in distinguishing between supervising and coaching in the feedback process. Supervising is coordinating the feedback process — ensuring the feedback is given, and the when, where and how. Coaching is the difference between feedback that leads to learning or growth or to nothing. When we coach, we mentor our employees or volunteers to be better by helping them understand what needs to change and how. This is more time-consuming than managing, and we often use excuses that we’re too busy to hand-hold. A manager’s primary role is growing your people and their performance.

Finally, we have one-sided feedback. Somewhere along the management way, we learned that continuous improvement is only fixing mistakes. That oldworld management doesn’t work today. Our human resources need encouragement, support and acknowledgement for what they do well, as much and some say, even more, than hammering their faults.

My fear in making these points is that some will see this as coddling, touchy-feely makeeveryone-feel-okay management. Call it what you will, but find a way to give meaningful feedback to your employees and volunteers that will be heard, help them grow and balance areas for improvement with areas for strengths.

I invite and encourage you to push back and tell me why my perspective is inaccurate or unfair. I want to be disproven.

Next Week: Meaningful Feedback Part 2 — Getting

Dr. Santo D. Marabella, The Practical Prof, is retired professor of management at Moravian University and hosts the podcast “Office Hours with The Practical Prof … and Friends.” His latest book, “The Lessons of Caring” is written to inspire and support caregivers (available in paperback and eBook). Website: ThePracticalProf.com; Twitter: @PracticalProf; Facebook: ThePracticalProf.