{"id":7075,"date":"2018-08-14T19:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/?p=7075"},"modified":"2024-05-20T17:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T14:19:24","slug":"mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html","title":{"rendered":"The Mistakes You’re Making with Offering Feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"
Management expert Ken Blanchard once said that \u201cfeedback is the breakfast of champions\u201d. What he probably meant is that meaningful feedback can make the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Without quality feedback<\/strong><\/a>, employees don\u2019t know how to improve.<\/p>\n

But feedback can only help employees improve when it\u2019s constructive. Before we discuss how<\/em> to give constructive feedback, let\u2019s talk about what that really means.<\/p>\n

Constructive feedback aims to build the individual up, rather than break them down. Does that mean always focusing on giving positive feedback? Not at all. What it does mean is that feedback is only constructive when it\u2019s provided with the right approach. When you manage to provide constructive feedback, you\u2019ll see employees grow and flourish.<\/p>\n

The Mistakes That Result in Ineffective Feedback<\/h2>\n

Giving and receiving feedback in the workplace isn\u2019t quite as easy as it seems. Fragile egos, miscommunication, and poor timing are just some of the challenges of giving feedback. These challenges can easily stand in the way of giving and receiving feedback that supports employees\u2019 growth.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Making feedback too personal<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Making feedback too impersonal<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. \u201cSandwich-ing\u201d negative feedback<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Playing armchair psychologist<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Postponing feedback<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Setting vague expectations<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s take a closer look at the specific mistakes you\u2019re probably making in your approach to feedback, <\/a>and some feedback tips for managers to correct them.<\/p>\n

    1. Making feedback too personal<\/h3>\n

    Too often, managers approach problems with an employee\u2019s performance as being problems with the employee themselves, rather than skill or process issues. For example, a manager might say \u201cyou handled that meeting with Adam poorly, your immaturity made our department look incompetent\u201d. Could you blame the employee for being insulted in this situation?<\/em><\/p>\n

    Instead, managers should focus on the actions and their consequences, rather than the person. Constructive negative feedback is as objective as possible and focuses on corrective action.<\/p>\n

    For example, the manager in the above example could rather say \u201cit\u2019s clear that you were upset by what Adam said in the meeting. While I understand you\u2019re passionate about the project, it\u2019s important that we keep our communication with other departments professional if we want them to take our opinions seriously.<\/p>\n

    Next time, try taking a deep breath and writing down your thoughts. If you feel comfortable saying them calmly, do,<\/a> otherwise, put them in an email after the meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n

    2. Making feedback too impersonal<\/h3>\n

    In the above example of providing feedback to employees, we see that personal attacks have no place in constructive feedback. Unfortunately, though, some managers tend to overcorrect to avoid personal accusations.<\/p>\n

    Sometimes managers will provide feedback for the team, instead of individuals. The manager may tell the sales team \u201cwe underperformed by 25% this month. The team needs to improve its negotiation skills<\/strong><\/a> if we\u2019re going to meet our quarterly target\u201d.<\/p>\n

    What are individual employees supposed to do with this feedback? Some of them may identify with the need to improve negotiation skills, but other employees won\u2019t, and won\u2019t know how to improve their performance.<\/p>\n

    Individual performance influences team performance, but improvements can only happen at the individual level. Any guidelines about how to give constructive feedback will emphasize this idea: start with the individual.<\/p>\n

    Managers need to understand the factors influencing each employee\u2019s performance and identify specific measures for improvement. <\/a>This can be time-consuming and requires experienced managers, but it\u2019s well worth it in the end!<\/p>\n

    3. \u201cSandwich-ing\u201d negative feedback<\/h3>\n

    Many managers outright avoid negative feedback. Instead, they adopt the \u201csandwich\u201d method. This relies on placing negative feedback between positive feedback. The manager might say something like \u201cthe team loves your energy and bubbly personality. Some team members find that you talk too much at your desk and that\u2019s distracting. But overall, we just love having you around\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Now, clearly, this manager has tried to cushion the blow. But it\u2019s possible to cushion the blow so much that the only feedback the employee hears is the positive type. Sugar coating a bitter pill is only effective if the employee understands that they\u2019re receiving constructive negative feedback, too. Otherwise, you may as well be handing them M&Ms.<\/p>\n

    So, how do you avoid the sandwich trap without being unkind? Clarity is kindness. Start with the negative feedback, keep it constructive, and provide praise separately. For example, the manager should keep \u201csome employees find you talking at your desk distracting\u201d and \u201cyour bubbly personality contributes to our team\u201d as separate points of discussion.<\/p>\n

    4. Playing armchair psychologist<\/h3>\n

    Some of the most uncomfortable examples of providing feedback to employees involve the manager using their insight into the employee to guess the motives behind their behavior.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s all too tempting to tell an employee who isn\u2019t delivering on deadline that you think they\u2019re behind \u201cbecause of issues at home\u201d. Now, this doesn\u2019t mean that managers should ignore their insights into employee performance<\/strong><\/a>. However, they should be careful of assuming that their insights tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

    No one likes to feel like people are making assumptions about them. Employees might even be deeply insulted by a manager\u2019s intrusion into their personal issues.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s why one of our feedback suggestions for managers is to ask, rather than assume<\/strong>. If an employee has missed a few deadlines, their manager should take them aside and say \u201cyou\u2019ve missed a number of deadlines lately, <\/a>what do you think is causing this? Let\u2019s look at how we can get you back on track\u201d.<\/p>\n

    5. Postponing feedback<\/h3>\n

    What\u2019s worse than receiving negative feedback? Receiving feedback so long after the fact that you can\u2019t do anything to improve the situation. One of the toughest challenges of giving feedback is getting the timing right.<\/p>\n

    In an effort to keep things professional, many managers wait for performance reviews to provide employees with any constructive feedback. This means that if there\u2019s an issue in January, they could wait until the end of the quarter (March) to address it.<\/p>\n

    This doesn\u2019t work for a couple of reasons. Firstly, managers can become fed up with an employee who isn\u2019t changing their behavior, forgetting that they haven\u2019t even discussed the behavior with them yet. Secondly, it means that performance reviews can be too focused on problems that occurred months ago, and are all but forgotten.<\/p>\n

    So, take super-entrepreneur Tim Fargo\u2019s advice<\/strong><\/a> that \u201cmistakes should be examined, learned from, and discarded; not dwelled upon and stored\u201d. Address issues as they arise. Build regular opportunities for feedback into everyone\u2019s schedule, such as bi-weekly one-on-ones. <\/a>Regular feedback will also give employees practice on receiving constructive feedback, so it\u2019s a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

    6. Setting vague expectations<\/h3>\n

    Knowing if both sides are on the same page is another one of the core challenges of giving feedback.<\/p>\n

    Feedback is only constructive if it\u2019s actionable, specific, and clear. So, don\u2019t say \u201cwe need to see you become more diligent in your work\u201d. Being more diligent is great in theory, but how exactly do you improve diligence, a personal quality? Rather say \u201cyou need to pay closer attention to detail in your assignments\u201d. Provide examples where the employee has not behaved with attention to detail. Both sides need to understand exactly what incorrect behavior looks like, and what an improvement would look like.<\/p>\n

    Setting improvement KPIs is one way to make your expectations clear, and track employee progress. For example, a copywriter can work toward a goal<\/strong><\/a> of keeping typos under five for every 1000 words.<\/p>\n

    Finally, make sure that the consequences for not improving are clear. Let\u2019s say that the copywriter above doesn\u2019t improve their attention to detail. Do they know what to expect? Explain the practical actions that the organization will need to take, without making threats.<\/p>\n

    Put These Feedback Tips into Action<\/h4>\n

    Yes, champions eat feedback for breakfast. But champions also know that providing good feedback requires skill and sensitivity.<\/p>\n

    Now you know how to give constructive feedback at the right time, with the right approach and clear expectations. Apply the tips in this article, avoid performance feedback errors, and expect to see employee performance and employee-manager relationships positively transform.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Management expert Ken Blanchard once said that \u201cfeedback is the breakfast of champions\u201d. What he probably meant is that meaningful feedback can make the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Without quality feedback, employees don\u2019t know how to improve. But feedback can only help employees improve when it\u2019s constructive. Before we discuss how to give constructive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33872,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-practices"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Challenges Of Giving Feedback And How To Overcome Them<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wondering why providing feedback to employees doesn't help them improve? 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We've gathered the six most common challenges of giving feedback to staff and their solutions!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eFront Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-14T16:00:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-20T14:19:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.efrontlearning.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/efront.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nikos Andriotis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nikos Andriotis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nikos Andriotis\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad73fe0df3ce823020fd1b37d39b1490\"},\"headline\":\"The Mistakes You’re Making with Offering Feedback\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-14T16:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-20T14:19:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html\"},\"wordCount\":1367,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Best practices\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/mistakes-challenges-of-giving-feedback.html\",\"name\":\"The Challenges Of Giving Feedback And How To Overcome Them\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-14T16:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-20T14:19:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad73fe0df3ce823020fd1b37d39b1490\"},\"description\":\"Wondering why providing feedback to employees doesn't help them improve? 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