Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Providing Effective Feedback

HBR recently reviewed best evidence for delivering feedback and they recommend against the  sandwich" approach. It risks diluting the primary message and allows the person being counseled to focus on other things (as evidenced by the response from the example to "focus on the incompetent staff on the unit").
http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/06/everything-you-need-to-know-about-negative-feedback/

I am a big believer in rehearsing prior to meeting. There are definitely some things you do not want to say and phrases you want to avoid because they can be explosive or derail the discussion.

I also believe that "Crucial Conversations" has good advice (from their newsletter "Vitalsmarts") when they recommend "getting your heart right" and addressing the mutual purpose with mutual respect. I think this letter on creating a safe environment for discussion (from the employee's perspective) is appropriate for both the employee and the supervisor.

http://www.crucialskills.com/2014/03/how-to-make-it-safe-for-you/

http://www.emergingrnleader.com/feedback-fails-2