The Organizational
Behavior Teaching Review,
1988,
13 (1), 109?113.
Larry
K. Michaelsen, University of Oklahoma
Emily
E. Schultheiss Western Electric Company
In every
aspect of our lives, we are constantly faced with the need to tell others?family,
friends, associates, bosses, subordinates?about the effects of their behavior.
Often, the goal of such feedback is to be helpful?that is either to encourage
them to reinforce positive behavior or to eliminate behavior that is detrimental
to them, to us or to our relationship. Unfortunately, not all feedback
is helpful. If it is given at the wrong time or in an inappropriate way,
it can be destructive to the recipient, your relationship with them or
both.
In our view,
giving feedback effectively is a skill that comes naturally to a few but
can be learned by anyone if they are willing to focus on two things. The
most important of which is asking themselves, "Why do I want to give this
feedback?" If the intent is to let off steam or establish who's in charge,
then the outcome is likely to be negative and the feedback probably shouldn't
be given at all. If the intent is to help the other person improve themselves
or strengthen your relationship with them, then the second factor comes
into play. This one has to do with the manner in which the feedback is
given. Even when the) intent is positive, the outcome is likely to be negative
unless the process is handled skillfully. The following characteristics
of helpful feedback should assist in this regard.
Helpful
Feedback is Descriptive NOT Evaluative
Evaluative
words, especially negative ones (e.g., "wrong ... .. bad," "dumb," etc.)
are likely to cause a defensive reaction even when the person
already knows
they have made a mistake. For example, telling someone that they made a
"careless * "mistake is much more
likely to elicit an excuse that places the blame, and therefore the need
for change, on someone else (e.g., "I was in a hurry because of all the
other things I had to do.") than simply describing the consequences of
their actions (e.g., "Joe was upset when his order didn't arrive on schedule.").
An effective
way to make feedback more descriptive and less evaluative is ?by "owning"
it (i.e., clearly label it as your opinion). For example, an
unowned"That's
wrong" is a direct pronouncement of the inadequacy of the receiver's position.
In response, most of us would attempt to defend ourselves by reinforcing
the merits of our point of view rather than examining the giver's reasoning.
By contrast, "owned" statements such as "I disagree," and even "I think
you're wrong," are more likely to facilitate further discussion because
they describe the giver's position and, as a result, are invitations to
compare points of view, Thus, it would be much more helpful to say "I was
angry (surprised, upset or whatever) that you disagreed with me in the
meeting. I thought you'd have been more supportive based on our discussion
at lunch," than to say "You were being twofaced when you disagreed with
me in the meeting," even though both statements clearly provide feedback
about your displeasure.
Helpful
Feedback is Specific
The more
specific the feedback, the more information it contains. In trying to help
someone learn how to type, saying "you are using the correct finger on
all but two of the letters of the alphabet" would be descriptive and minimally
evaluative but not specific enough to be of much help. "You are striking
the Yand the Nwith
the left instead of the right forefinger," would be even less likely to
be seen as evaluative and would be specific enough to be useful. Similarly,
the statement "I saw your interactions with me in this group as being quite
brief so that I didn't really understand what you were trying to say,"
is descriptive, non?evaluative, and owned by the giver but is also far
more general (and proportionately less helpful) than the statement "...I
had a hard time understanding your point about Bill's next assignment.
I think my problem was that I didn't have enough information to tic things
together."
Helpful
Feedback is Expressed in Terms Relevant to the Needs of the Receiver
Even though
a particular behavior is highly undesirable from your point of view, feedback
is likely to be ignored unless it is given in terms that are important
to the recipient. For example, depending on (heir needs, telling a subordinate,
a peer, or even a boss that "I thought the way you treated Susan was unprofessional,"
might have a dramatically different effect than asking "Were you aware
that Susan was so upset she was in tears and is thinking of quitting because
she feels you were too critical of her?" Some might respond because they
are concerned about maintaining their "image" and feel that Susan's reaction
was her problem. Others might not care about their own "image" but be highly
responsive because of Susan's reaction. The key is that we are more likely
to respond to feedback that is stated in terms of issues that we have strong
feelings about.
Helpful
Feedback is Timely
In general,
the more immediate the feedback; the more helpful it will be. In part,
this is because giving immediate feedback makes it possible to be much
more specific because the details of the situation are much more apparent
than they would be at any later point in time. In addition, delayed feedback
often causes resentment because it may sound like a "Monday morning quarterback."
This is because the recipient may feel that he or she could have minimized
problems by making on?the?spotcorrections
if you had spoken up earlier.
Even though
immediate feedback is generally desirable, one caution is in order. There
may be situations in which the receiver's needs may make it necessary to
postpone feedback until it can be given in a different setting. For example,
bosses who need to be "in charge" will invariably respond defensively if
someone attempts to give them negative feedback during a meeting they are
conducting but will often respond favorably to a "one?on?one" conversation
at a later point in time. Similarly, someone who is very upset or angry,
is not likely to be open to feedback until they have had the opportunity
to calm down.
Helpful
Feedback is Desired by the Receiver
One of the
most critical aspects of giving feedback is being able to tell when those
who need it are ready to receive it. In part, this is because imposing
feedback on someone who isn't ready for it is more likely to damage your
relationship with the recipient than to provide them with helpful insights.
Thus, two important questions arise: (1) How can you tell whether or not
someone is ready to receive feedback and, (2) What, if anything, can you
do when you think someone needs feedback and doesn't appear to be aware
that they need it?
With respect
to the first question, a number of things can help. Most people give cues,
verbal and nonverbal. For example, negative cues might include nonverbal
cues such as body position (turned away) and verbal cues such as attempting
to redirect the conversation. The better you know the people, the easier
it is to read their cues particularly when they trust you enough so that
they don't feel like they have to be "on guard" in your presence. Unfortunately,
having a close relationship with someone often leads us to assume that
our feedback will be more welcome than it turns out to be. As a result,
the only time you can be sure that it is "safe" to give negative feedback
is when the recipient specifically asks for it.
What can
you do when you feel that someone would benefit from feedback but doesn't
appear to be aware that they need it? One key is patience..... In many
cases simply waiting for an invitation for your input wi provide plenty
of opportunities. In situations in which waiting is too costly, the best
option is to ask the person if they would like you to give them feedback.
In doing so, however, if they have any hesitancy it would be better to
attempt to understand and resolve the reasons for their reservations before
actually moving ahead with the feedback.
Helpful
Feedback is Usable
Feedback
is useful only when it relates to something over which the person has control.
Feedback is useless when it is about: (1) personal attributes such as race,
sex, age, physical size or even previous experience and, (2) opportunities
that have already been missed (i.e., something someone should have done
but didn't). The problem with both is that the person can't do anything
about them even if they want to. As a result, giving feedback based on
these kinds of issues is not only useless but is likely to cause resent?
(or worse).
Summary
We have outlined
six variables that determine whether or not feedback will be helpful on
one hand or ineffective and possibly even harmful on the other. Our comments
can be summed up in the following six "Characteristics of Helpful Feedback."
Helpful Feedback Is:
(1)descriptive,
not evaluative, and is "owned" by the sender.
(2)specific,
not general.
(3)expressed
in terms relevant to the self?perceived needs of the receiver.
(4)timely
and in context.
(5)desired
by the receiver, not imposed on him or her.
(6)usable;
concerned with behavior over which the receiver has control.
A Concluding
Note
One final
general rule concerns the communications process itself. Feedback cannot
be helpful if it is not heard or is misunderstood. Thus, it is always a
good idea for the person giving feedback to check, explicitly, with the
receiver, to make sure that the receiver heard and understood what you
were trying to communicate. One of the most effective ways of accomplishing
this is by asking the receiver to restate what he or she thought you had
said.
*This article
is based on ideas from an article that originally appeared in the 1971
NTL Reading Book: Laboratories in Human Relations Training, Rev. Ed.
and
has appeared in slightly modified form in a number of other places.