Feedback

In the grand symphony of life, every note we play and every step we take contributes to the intricate melody of our personal and professional development. Feedback, much like a conductor in an orchestra, plays a pivotal role in shaping our journey. It comes in various forms, from the searing lesson of a hot pan to the harmonious guidance from mentors and peers. Just as every instrument has a part to play in the orchestra, feedback plays a vital role in fine-tuning our actions, refining our skills, and nurturing our growth.

We thrive or stagnate based on the feedback we receive.  Feedback comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors; almost everything we do results in some type of feedback, and this feedback helps us learn, grow, adjust, and change.  Most feedback naturally happens within our environment.  For example, if a child accidentally touches a hot pan, they’ll get burned, and it will hurt. That is immediate feedback that will most likely result in a behavior change. The child will probably not touch a pan on a stovetop and might be more careful around an oven. At least that’s how it worked with my daughter.

Feedback also comes from other people through our interactions. When playing a sport, a coach will provide feedback on our performance; at school, we receive feedback from our teachers; and at work, we receive feedback from other employees and supervisors. If the feedback is delivered in the right way, at the right time, with the right information, and in the right context, it will lead to growth, learning, and improvement. Ken Blanchard was quoted as saying that “feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

Feedback is information about a past event, delivered in the present, that may impact or influence future behavior.  When we provide feedback to someone, we provide information about an associated goal, task, or behavior. Before giving feedback, we should assess our relationship with the person, ensure we are clear about expectations and understand our motives for providing feedback. Without a high level of trust in a relationship, feedback may not be received well. This may change the approach to how feedback is provided, or it may be a situation where feedback shouldn’t be provided. Expectations should also be clear. If feedback is provided without an agreed-upon goal or approach, it may not go over well.  For example, what if your supervisor gave you feedback that you are completing a task late every week, but they never told you a time it was due? That wouldn’t be very helpful feedback unless you first were clear on the expectation.

When assessing our motives for the feedback, we make sure we know why we’re providing the feedback.  There are three reasons for giving feedback: providing information, making a request, or making a demand. Each feedback motive applies to different situations and deciding whether to add a request or demand depends on the outcome you need.  Providing informational feedback provides a person the most autonomy to make their own choice about accepting and using the feedback. But, if a change is required, it should be made as a request or demand, depending on the situation.  In the movie Office Space, there is a funny scene where Jennifer Aniston’s character is getting feedback from her supervisor at Chachkies about her “flare.” She meets the minimum requirement, but the boss implies that maybe she should consider getting more “flare.” This is a great scene because Jennifer’s character is looking for a request or demand, but the boss is only providing the feedback as informational.

There are two categories of feedback: informative feedback and judgmental feedback.  Informative feedback is objective with factual information about a specific behavior. It may be information about “what” we did or about “how” we did it.  If you had to give a presentation to a group of people, informative “what” feedback would describe the outcomes of the presentation. For example, “you were allotted 20 minutes to complete the presentation, and you finished within the allotted time, taking 18 minutes to present the information.  The audience rated the presentation with an average rating of eight on a scale of one to ten. Your presentation was completed in 17 minutes, two minutes above the agreed upon targeted time, with an average audience rating of six out of ten.”

On the other hand, informative “how” feedback would describe things about the delivery of the presentation. For example, “during the presentation you used filler words like ‘ah’ or ‘um’ approximately 5 times each minute. Your voice was described as monotone by 20% of the audience raters, and your body language included five gestures and expressions to emphasize the information.” Notice in these examples that the informative feedback includes statements and facts without any judgment or evaluation.

Judgmental feedback is different than informative feedback because it includes evaluation or opinion. It could be provided as praise, or it could be provided as disapproval. Oftentimes when people provide judgmental feedback, it will include informative information, but if the feedback also includes opinion, it is considered judgmental. Using the same example of a presentation, praising judgmental feedback will focus on the positive aspects of the task or behavior. For example, “you completed the presentation better than last time, within the allotted 20-minute timeframe. The average audience rating of your presentation was great as it increased from 6 out of 10 on your last presentation to an 8 out of 10 this time. I think you did such a great job presenting with less ‘um’ and ‘ah’ words, and I’m so proud of the improvement you’ve made.”

Disapproval feedback focuses on the negative aspects of the task or behavior. For example, “even though you improved your audience rating to eight out of ten, there is still more improvement to be made so that you can be above nine out of ten. You did not use enough body language to emphasize your points, and your voice was perceived as monotone. I’m very disappointed in your inability to improve in this area, and I think you could have done a better job.” In these examples, there are some aspects of informative feedback, but they also include “I” statements where the feedback giver is making judgments about how they feel or think about the presentation.

There are times when each of these types of feedback may be beneficial. However, most of the time, feedback will be more impactful and more constructive when informative. So why is that; what is the problem with judgmental feedback? To fully understand this, check out our article on motivation. But in a nutshell, by avoiding judgment or judgmental statements, the focus stays on the individual’s behavior and does not create imposition or control on the feedback receiver.  If a supervisor gives feedback using a judgmental statement about how they are disappointed in their employee (or even if it’s positive that they’re happy with the employee), the statement creates an imposition on the employee. As a feedback giver, we should strive to let the feedback receiver make their own judgment about whether the feedback is good or back. We should focus on the objective situation. Describe what happened and ask them how they feel about it. If we force our opinions on someone else, this can create what is called an imposed motivational outlook. Instead of the employee having a natural intrinsic desire to want to improve in a task, achieve a goal, or work with others, they may feel an imposition to perform for someone else’s approval.  This type of imposed motivation does not have the same longevity and impact as a person’s natural drive to improve or work with others.

As we've seen, feedback takes many forms, from the sizzle of a hot pan to the praise or disapproval we receive from our interactions with others. The key to effective feedback lies in its artful delivery: timely, context-appropriate, and grounded in facts rather than judgments. Feedback is not merely the notes we hear but the melody we create together. By honing our skills in providing and receiving feedback, we orchestrate a brighter future, fostering understanding, motivation, and lasting change.

References

Ashford, S. J., & Cummings, L. L. (1983). Feedback as an individual resource: Personal strategies of creating information. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(3), 370-398.

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 1-27.

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112.

Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284.

London, M. (2015). The power of feedback: Giving, seeking, and using feedback for performance improvement. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (2010). Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. Penguin.

VandeWalle, D. (2003). A goal orientation model of feedback-seeking behavior. Human Resource Management Review, 13(4), 581-604.