Mastering the Art of Giving Feedback

Management moguls believe that creating a culture of constructive feedback sharing is not only good-to-have but also necessary/imperative, and I think so too. Project managers who share honest, helpful feedback more often drive higher productivity levels, innovation, and employee satisfaction. 

We all agree to the fact that feedback plays a key role in their businesses and the team’s success. But at the same time, we have a million questions in our mind, including the most obvious one - “How do I give feedback that actually helps, without hurting anyone more than I have to?” 

In this particular post, I’ve outlined tips that have helped me a lot during performance evaluations and one-on-one feedback sessions. 

Wondering how you can master the art of giving feedback? Pay attention to these 4 simple rules of giving feedback and avoiding any kind of confusion or resentment in the workplace. 

1. They Show that They Care 

The reason behind giving feedback is that you deeply care about your project's success and the person's personal/career growth. Now, communicate the same thing in your feedback. Show that you actually care about them and you want them to thrive.

Consider saying something like: “I believe in you”, “I want you to succeed”, “I want to ensure that we all perform well as a team”, and so on.

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2. They Observe Objectively

When it comes to negative feedback, people often take things personally. This is a key reason why many project managers sugarcoat their feedback. But that doesn't help anyone. So what you could do instead is communicate your feedback more objectively.

Do some thorough observation, focus on the person's action in different workplace situations, note down the person's best and worst attributes, and when it's time to give feedback – make it more about what you observed, not what you think.

3. They Make it a Curious Conversation 

Don't just tell people your opinions, make it feel more like a conversation. Be curious about what the other person has to say about your feedback. 

Listen to his/her side of the story before you put your words officially into the papers. And this isn't that difficult. All you need to do is ask a simple question: “What do you think?”

4. They Never Consider their Feedback as Infallible

Feedback is never infallible. It's just an interpretation of your observation on what has happened and your perspective of how things can improve. It's not a universal truth.

Although you must strongly believe in what you say, be willing to admit that you may be wrong. There can be some important information missing or you could have forgotten to evaluate an important aspect. Remember, mistakes happen.

Giving feedback is never simple. When done correctly, it creates a win-win situation for both the project manager and teams. It helps people to see inevitable blind spots in their performance and improve themselves for the greater good. A poorly delivered feedback, however, ruins productivity. And at its worse, it wrecks workplace relationships as well as everyone's peace of mind.

All the points that I’ve mentioned here are catchy. With these tips in mind, you’re going to have much more honest and productive conversations with your coworkers while giving them feedback. Plus, you’re going to get better results in return. After all, that’s the whole point of giving feedback, right? 

What are your thoughts? Share your suggestions and experiences in the comments section! 

Author Bio:

Vartika Kashyap is the Marketing Manager at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2017 and 2018. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click. Follow her on Linkedin.