At the beginning of a new project, there normally is commitment about the direction to go. Equipped with a backpack full of their own experiences, expectations and skills all team members hit the same road. However, in the end everybody arrives somewhere else or gets lost alongside the road. How you as a leader can prevent your team from this phenomenon? Continuously lead the way by giving helpful feedback.
Targeted feedback at the right time is a very powerful instrument of communication and also control. It provides valuable information for the feedback receiver and imports different facets and higher awareness into the collaboration. For the feedback receiving employee it’s also the chance to change his behaviour if necessary. And positive feedback can be a strong motivator.
According to experience it’s far more difficult to express feedback in order to change an employee’s behaviour than to just commend him on something. Therefore you find an example for change feedback in the following.
4-Step-Feedback-Pattern
In the course of this week find one particular situation when you perceive a certain behaviour from one of your employees which is not favourable for your company or your team. In order to show your employee the right direction ask him for two minutes of his time – good feedback doesn’t need more . As a conversation guide use the following 4-Step-Feedback-Pattern:
Step 1: Explain the purpose
Tell your employee that you’re about to give him feedback and mention the very concrete situation which led to it.
“Mr. Simon, do you have two minutes? I’d like to give you feedback on the presentation you just did.”
Step 2: Describe the behaviour
Give an objective (!!) description of how you perceived the behaviour – no interpretation or generalization. And always start with something positive.
„It was obvious that you spared no effort to prepare this presentation. That’s great. But I also noticed that the action plan we discussed was still missing.”
Step 3: llustrate the consequences
What are the consequence of the employee’s behaviour?
“Due to the missing action plan this project is really pressed for time and in case of a delayed launch we risk financial losings.”
Step 4: Express a wish
Explain what you expect from your employee in the future and use phrases like “Go on with…”, “More of…” and “Less of…”.
“Please go on with the great preparation work. And for the next time please concentrate even more on what we discussed and agreed or tell me if you can’t make it in time.”
That’s it! After two minutes your employee leaves your office and knows two things: He knows that he and his work are estimated (praise for the preparation) which probably motivates him. And he also know how to be even better and how to improve his input for the project. This helps you and him in equal measure.
Have a successful feedback week!
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