Step 3 of the feedback model

And I think that's the crucial step because it links the behavior to results and consequences.  In my company, we have been focusing this year on communicating clearly three key objectives that lead to profitability, so I have been trying, when it makes sense,  to tie those in to feedback so people can see how our day to day actions impact the company's performance, but that isn't always easy.

As an example, one of the objectives is to reduce cost of goods sold (they are very macro).  So, if a supervisor gave clear directions to her group, and I was giving her feedback about that, I might say "when you give clear directions like that, what happens is you've reduced the likelihood of rework, which helps achieve our objective of reducing the cost of good sold."

As I wrote this out, though, it took some thought.  And that's where I  struggle with feedback.  It isn't "at the moment", because I want to "get it right".  And if I don't do it at the moment, sometimes I forget to do it at all.

This is a challenging step in the feedback model but it is critically important. I have a mixed record of success. Some have been excellent. Some stank up the joint. One of the facts brought up by Mike and Mark that I work hard on is to communicate with people in the way that is most meaningful to them. When possible I:
   affirm a D with potential for promotion and power.
   affirm an I with how their actions show them to be an effective leader.
   affirm an S personality with the way it pleases other..
   affirm a C with the way it fits into the system and makes things hum.

I ask those of you with better understanding of your profile (especially D) to help give some insight to what motivates you.

Susan, 

To me, using the feedback model is like learning a foreign language - one becomes more "fluent" through practice and repetition. While I have a long way to go myself, I have found some things that help:

1. It's OK to pause and think about the impact of the actions, even it if means that the delivery won't be as crisp and efficient.

2. I will sometimes think of the impact in terms of something that my direct report wouldn't necessarily be aware of...for instance - "...when you provide a clear and informative update at staff meeting, I get comments from other team members that they appreciate your thoroughness."

3. As odd as it sounds, I have on occasion practiced giving feedback to inanimate objects that I come across in my environment. For instance - (to a stop sign)"...when you control traffic in an organized manner, I avoid getting in an accident and get home safely..." The practicing helps me feel more comfortable when it comes to the real thing.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Thanks for exploring the question Susan, I think that we all struggle with one or more parts of giving feedback. I love that this is supposed to be a daily thing (multiple times) and I think Mike is so right about getting better with practice. I will share something that I learned from watching teachers with students in the hallway.

Teacher 1: "Johnny, you are running in the hallway. You know that the rules of the classroom clearly say that we don't do this. We just went over these rules this morning! You could hurt Sally! You should be more careful! I tell you this every day! etc, etc, etc...

Teacher 2: "Johnny, you are running in the hall. Knock it off!"

Guess which one Johnny responded to? This true for affirming feedback too. "When you do xyz here's what happens....You help us meet our budget and keep jobs or I get comments from our customers about how valuable our service is to them or it really makes my day as your boss, fantastic work, keep it up! etc.

Especially if a manager is high "s" or "i" I think that we expend too much effort on the explanations. Maybe because we want full understanding, or are defending our right to set a standard. I also think that over time the pattern of what we give feedback for emerges and probably falls into maybe 10 or 20 common situations. Even if our feedback is awkward and scripted it is still appreciated by our directs. 80% of fantastic is better than 0% of perfect.

Keep it up and keep us posted!!!

I don't understand the comparison. "Knock it off" may be an efficient way to get little Johnny to comply now, but will it help improving future behavior? Your short and concise "third step" examples, however, are excellent.

In the Effective Manager Conference Mark also encourages short feedback. If I remember well, down to seven words, total....

Thanks for the comment RWWH, I just meant to illustrate one of the first (pre-manager tools) moments when I saw the value of a short response. Susan indicated in her post that she had a tendency to want to ramble.

Although (full disclosure) I have occasionally longed to tell my team to "knock it off", I am in complete agreement that this would be ineffective within the feedback model.

Have a good day.

Keep in mind the primary purpose for the "here's what happens" part of feedback.  It is designed to help the recipient of the feedback link their behavior to the consequences of their actions. That is all. I do tend to ramble or pile on a bit too much as well. Often however, a single connection is sufficient. 

I still ramble as well.  As long as it is sincere, they eagerly wait for us to get it out.  It does get easier!  Keep it up!