Unlock Your Team's Potential: 7 Expert Feedback Tips (Part 1)

All right, here we go. Tom, what are you doing? Oh, I'm just getting ready to give a teammate some feedback. Have you ever tried giving feedback and felt like you were either walking on eggshells or you were tossing a grenade? Incoming. Feedback is the thing we all love to give to others, but hate to receive ourselves? Let's face it, feedback sessions can sometimes feel like you're about to ruin someone's day or your own. But what if I told you feedback doesn't have to be the office equivalent of diffusing a bomb? Red wire, blue wire. Red wire, blue. I don't know. In this two part video, I'm going to show you how to turn feedback sessions into your team superpower. Let's get into it. Did you know that 75% of employers believe that feedback is valuable, but less than 30% of those respondents reported actually receiving the feedback? This indicates that there is a huge gap between the perceived value of feedback and the actual feedback being given. However, on the flip side, companies that conduct regular feedback experiences show a 14 to 15% lower turnover of employees. And 43% of highly engaged employees say that they receive feedback at least once a week, compared to 18% of employees with low engagement saying they get feedback. I literally didn't understand a single word you just said. Feedback is critical for growth, both personally and professionally. But clearly we aren't so good at it. So let me give you seven tips on how to give feedback that encourages growth and constructive conversations. Starting with tip number one, which is to foster a feedback friendly culture. We're too busy to worry about changing things right now. That's just the way things are done around here. Stop talking. You aren't being helpful. You should know. Why are you bothering me? First things first. You have to create an environment where feedback isn't just tolerated, it's actually welcome. Otherwise, you'll never succeed at giving feedback or receiving feedback in a positive way. I know, I know that some of you right now are thinking that creating a feedback friendly culture sounds kind of like trying to convince cats to enjoy bath time. They're not gonna do it. Meow. That was not funny. We have to shift our perspective perspective from criticism to growth. Encourage open discussion so that we make it normal to share and receive constructive criticism. It's important to normalize these discussions as part of the personal and professional growth within our organization. In other words, embrace those awkward sweaty palm chats that you need to have once you have the right culture in place and to give and receive constructive feedback. Now we can move on to the next tip, which is tip number two. Make it timely. The best feedback happens close to the event that actually triggered it. There are three reasons why this is important. Reason number one, the memory of the event is fresh in everyone's mind. The accuracy is vital for providing specific examples and for the recipient to clearly understand the context of what you're talking about. It's much easier to recall and discuss the next nuances of a situation that happened yesterday than something that happened six months ago. Prompt feedback prevents the accumulation like a snowball going down the hill of small issues turning into big problem. Think of it like weeding a garden. It's much easier to pull out the small weeds as they appear than to tackle the overgrown jungle at the end of the season. Oh, let's see. See here. My poor little plant. I have to take care of you. You are not doing so well. We need to help you out here. Don't judge. Don't judge. By addressing issues as they arise, you prevent them from festering and potentially undermining the morale and the performance of your whole team or that individual employee. Reason number two, Timely feedback demonstrates that you are attentive and you care about your team's growth and development. It shows that you're not just observing, but actively invested in their improvement. This can significantly boost the recipient's motivation and engagement. If you wait too long, it can dilute the message and make the conversation harder than it needs to be. Think about feedback. Kind of like fresh bread. Oh, I love the smell of fresh bread. It's best served warm. But if you wait too long and it's just stale and hard enough, it will just cause damage. Why does this bread taste like it tastes like card? Oh, it is cardboard. That's gross. If you notice something worth mentioning, schedule a chat within a week. Don't wait any longer. However, timing isn't just about the speed from the time it happens. It's also about choosing the right moment. Giving feedback in the heat of the moment when the emotions are high may not always be wise. So angry that you don't believe you. Excuse me. It's crucial to find the right balance between acting swiftly but also choose a moment when both of you and the recipient are in the right headspace to have that constructive conversation. So let's say the event just happened and you scheduled the meeting within a few days where the emotions calm down. Now it's time to start preparing for how you're going to deliver the feedback. Which brings us then to tip number three. Tip number three is to be Specific Navigating the feedback maze requires more than just good intentions. It needs precision. It's like telling someone to improve their cooking without specifically saying whether it's the salt or the timing or the temperature that needs adjustment. Here are tips to giving three specific feedback. Number one Use concrete examples. Imagine you're painting a picture with your words. Instead of using broad strokes, use more precise fine lines to detail exactly what the actions and behavior that need change you messed up. For instance, you could say something like during the team call, when you responded promptly to a client's questions about a project timeline, it really showcased your command over the project details and your preparedness very detailed versus the broad strokes. Number two quantify where possible numbers can make facts objective. For example, your sales here have improved by 15% since last quarter, which is significant contribution to our team's overall performance. This kind of data offers clear, measurable evidence of success. And the third is to avoid ambiguity. Steer clear of what I like to call these are terms that are so vague they could mean anything to anyone. Words like better, more, faster without any context. These are just feedback flops. Being vague in your feedback is like saying it's somewhere on earth when I asked you where you live. Or you could try something like this. Maybe instead of just saying be more professional, you'd say something like hey, at our meeting, don't wear your flip flops when the clients are there, even if they're your good ones. Okay, okay. Once you've adopted these strategies to be more specific, now we can move on to tip number four. But now that I've given you three tips, I'm gonna have to pause on part one of this video on giving you good feedback. In part two, I'll cover the next four tips that are critically needed to help you to deliver feedback like a pro. If you like this video, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and be sure to check out all of our videos. Until then, my name is Tom and I'm here to help you to engage the people on your dance floor.