In my short time managing employees, I have learned people want feedback. In fact, I think they crave it.
Delivering feedback is easy. Say “good job, keep it up”. There, you delivered feedback!
Delivering good feedback is not so easy. What characterizes good feedback? In my experience:
- Accurate (don’t say “good job” if that’s a lie)
- Actionable (don’t dwell on mistakes; what can be done for the future?)
- Concrete (back up feedback with specific examples)
The most common reason I don’t deliver important feedback is because I fear how the receiving individual will react. This is a bad habit I should break. Upon reflection, I tend to overestimate emotional blowups to negative feedback and underestimate the power of delivering feedback.
PS: I wonder if this is true of the population at large or if this is only true of the sample I work with (American libertarian millennials). Maybe this is a millennial trend in which we don’t know whether or not we are succeeding without direct feedback from an authority figure…and my reluctance to give feedback is a millennial fear of hurting someone’s feelings…