17 Things to Never do when Giving Corrective Feedback
The bad things you do erase the good things you’ve done.
Yesterday, at the end of a training session, I asked a group to list things you should never do when giving feedback.
Sometimes the next level of success is achieved when you stop shooting yourself in the foot.
17 things to never do when giving corrective feedback:
#1. Never lie.
#2. Never compare with others.
#3. Never over-commit.
#4. Never let someone over-commit.
#5. Never attack the person.
#6. Never give corrective feedback in public.
#7. Never address more than one concern.
#8. Never discourage.
#9. Never belittle or patronize.
#10. Never be vague.
Don’t say anything if you’re going to be vague.
#11. Never give constructive feedback without examples.
#12. Never be all negative.
#13. Never be unkind.
#14. Never give corrective feedback when you’re emotional.
#15. Never lose focus.
Wandering conversations are a train wreck waiting to happen. You might make excuses for poor performance if you lose focus, for example.
If you run around like a squirrel on steroids, make notes to keep on track.
- Declare the concern.
- Give an example.
- Address corrective measures.
- Set a follow-up meeting to track progress and adapt strategies.
#16. Never withhold corrective feedback until the end of a conversation.
#17. Never delay.
If you wait 3 months to give corrective feedback, the issue isn’t worth addressing.
Deal with negative behaviors before they become negative habits.
You didn’t serve your team member well if they say, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Why feedback is essential:
It’s impossible to improve apart from feedback.
Imagine a basketball player trying to improve her foul shooting percentage. Suppose she shoots, but a screen blocks her vision. She never sees where the ball goes.
Effort apart from feedback is wasted. You never improve until you see the results of your efforts.
What should leaders never do when giving corrective feedback?
What should leaders always do when giving corrective feedback?
Bonus material:
Giving Feedback – Don’t Make These Mistakes (Quick Base)
6 Mistakes to Avoid when Giving and Receiving Feedback (Startup Institute)
The Feedback Fallacy (HBR)
What should leaders never do when giving corrective feedback?
—Never cover more than 1 or 2 topics.
What should leaders always do when giving corrective feedback?
—Always provide actionable, helpful advice.
Two more—always ask the person—what is one thing I can do to help you improve?
Always make multiple observations to determine patterns of behavior before reaching any conclusions.
Thanks again Paul. I get a sense of having a commitment tot the person. Not simply to their performance.
Thanks Paul. So true.
Be as specific as possible, facts not opinions. How the behavior is impacting the process, goal, efficiency, quality, mission, customer satisfaction, teamwork, etc.and as immediately as possible. Express your confidence in them. And make sure it is balanced with positive feedback. As Ken Blanchard says, “Catch people doing something right!” Much easier to hear and deal with the corrective feedback if you are also getting positive feedback.
Thanks Mary Beth. Nothing like letting people know you believe in them. It occurs to me that if you don’t believe in the person, why go through the motions?
Most excellent post! Many, many leaders struggle with this fundamental responsibility. This is perhaps the most accurate and concise summary of the process that I have ever read. Kudos!
Wow, thanks Jim. Onward and upward.
This is great, as usual. Inc.com had a wonderful article with advice on how to provide corrective feedback remotely, given our current pandemic. Face-to-face is one thing, but doing it over a cell phone or computer raises many more challenges.
https://www.inc.com/joe-hirsch/how-to-deliver-difficult-feedback-when-youre-working-apart.html
Thanks Tom. Yes, I respect how you extended the conversation. very helpful.
One more suggestion! Never apologize for giving the direct, honest feedback.
Thanks Deb. Interesting. We can be direct and honest and kind all at the same time. 🙂
This reminds me of the book ‘Crucial Conversations,’ it’s a must read for any Manager/Leader! There are so many more complexities in the ‘new normal’ of distanced work, less in-person discussions and managing from a far. Nonetheless, this is a great list to keep in mind, as I find myself trying to tackle too many things at once. At the end of the conversation, I feel good that I was able to talk to many points, but the person on the other end can feel lost. Great reminders, Dan.
Leaders should never be condescending when giving feedback. However, leaders do need to have compassion and be willing to help with said problems.
Firstly, I am curious to know the thinking behind phrasing this article on Never doing this and that as opposed to writing in a positive tone of best things to do. The latter approach could synthesize the ideas presented down to a couple of affirmative sentences and not come across as talking down to the audience. Secondly, there is no mention of leaders receiving feedback from their subordinates. We live in a world where concurrent and collaborative ways of doing things are the norm and requires a real-time, immediate feedback loop. If so, it renders the legacy, hierarchial communication model much less effective.