How To Give Tough Feedback That Helps People Grow

In today’s business world, giving tough feedback is essential to ensure employees are meeting the company’s goals and objectives. However, delivering this feedback can be challenging, resulting in fear and failure. As a leader, it’s crucial to understand how to provide constructive criticism that fosters growth and development in your team.

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

One critical factor that impacts the delivery of tough feedback is an organization’s culture. The way feedback is valued throughout the company can influence how it’s delivered. Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” emphasizing the importance of a healthy feedback culture.

Managing Employees’ Performance

Managing an employee’s competence and performance should start during the onboarding process and continue throughout their tenure. Quarterly/biannual performance assessments and general feedback at team meetings can identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

The Positive Spin on Feedback

When delivering tough feedback, focus on the employee’s greatest contribution to the organization rather than the immediate failure. Instead of criticizing, provide support and guidance to improve. The delivery and focal points of feedback impact how well it’s received by employees.

Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) Framework

To ensure that tough feedback is meaningful, follow the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) framework. This framework involves describing the situation, using facts to describe behavior, detailing the immediate impact, and exploring the employee’s intent. Implementing this framework can reduce the anxiety of delivering feedback and reduce defensiveness.

Giving tough feedback is necessary for employee growth and development. By focusing on the positive spin of feedback, utilizing the SBI framework and managing employee performance, you can provide constructive criticism that fosters growth and development in your team.

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