This page holds a series of blog articles I wrote about various facets of Feedback on my previous websites.
I would really like to be able to reference sources for the models and so if you know of the original sources I would be more than happy to add.
Having been working as a leader and training leaders for twenty years, I have always been on the lookout for a solid concept for feedback. Until now the best I have found is the AID model. AID is a simple feedback model that can be used for both positive moments and those that need corrective action.
Action
Emphasis is on their actions, not on your interpretation of it. So you are feeding back what you observed or heard, not on their intentions, their personality or their character. Limit the number of actions you comment on a level they can handle – far better to give feedback on one key action that they can digest and build on to make a difference, than ten things which leaves the message diluted (and invariably leaves them demotivated). Because this is based on fact it is less likely to be challenged.
Action questions to consider:
- – What are you there to discuss?
- – What did you see?
- – What evidence/facts are there for this performance level?
Impact
This can include positive or negative impact on the end result, or on the process itself e.g. the amount of effort needed on their part to achieve the result, or the impact on others, etc. When giving praise it is so easy to say to someone ‘that was really good, well done’ without saying why it was good or what made the difference this time compared with previous occasions.
- What impact is this performance having on the team?
- – How does this performance effect other departments?
- – How is the customer (internal or external) impacted?
- – What evidence do you have for this?
Development or Desired Behaviour
Remember, the purpose of feedback is to enhance performance and motivate. So this last stage is important to determine what happens next e.g. develop to make it even better next time around, to correct a mistake or to perfect a process. Put the emphasis on what is missing rather than what is wrong – building on strengths or positives is far more likely to engender enthusiasm. Using open questions, ask the individual how they think things can be developed or built upon. This will help to gain buy in and you may be surprised by the options they suggest.
Development or desired questions to consider:
- – What needs to change going forward?
- – What does the goal look like?
- – Are actions SMART?
- – When will you meet again to confirm improvement or review results?
Remember with feedback you always have two choices:
- Tell the person what you want them to know.
- Ask them to self assess and consider what has happened.
You may find initially that you tend to tell rather than to ask. The more you ask the more your team will be able to self assess and improve their own performance.
The AID model provided the flow or format for the feedback. BOOST considers how to give or prepare the feedback.
Boost feedback model
Balanced:
This can be looked at in several ways:
- Are you ensuring there is a mixture of performance improvement feedback with praise rather than a “dump”of negative feedback?
- Are you allowing the person you are giving the feedback to the chance to speak and have their questions answered?
- Are you asking for feedback as well as giving it?
Observed: The feedback you give should be based on something that you have seen, rather than through hearsay or even your own opinion.
Objective: The feedback should be based on what actually happened rather than your idea or opinion of how the person is. Focus on the task or activity that was taking place. “Every day you have been more than 30 minutes late arriving” is significantly more objective than “you are lazy”. Specific: Look to be as accurate as possible and use specific examples of what and when the behaviour occurred.
Timely: Ensure that you give the feedback as soon after the task or activity took place. The sooner it is the more likely the person will remember and this will mean that they are less likely to deflect the feedback.
As you can see, BOOST is pretty simple. Combined with the AID feedback model, they provide a solid framework for preparing and giving feedback.
I came across the model in this post in Training Zone that mentioned another excellent acronym for setting out and framing feedback. The acronym is Cedar was was developed by Anna Wildman in 2003. The CEDAR feedback model allows for a balanced conversation.
Cedar Feedback model
Context: This is about setting up the conversation and would include framing the need for the feedback session and the importance or impact the issue or opportunity is having.
Examples: Clear, specific illustrations of what happened along with a clear indication of when it happened and where it happened.
Diagnosis: An exploration of the situation. This would include asking the person for their view of the situation and jointly working together to explore what happened and why it went well / not so well.
Actions: Again a conversation where the ideas should start from the person who is receiving the feedback. They should explore action to resolve a situation if the feedback was around poor performance or if the performance was good, how they can embed and replicate it. The tendency here is to jump in. Let them resolve it themselves.
Review: The final part of the conversation is around ensuring that the ideas or actions get put in practice. Review covers two areas: Asking the person to review the conversation and feedback given AND jointly setting up a date within 2 to 3 weeks to review the situation and performance.
Overall as you can seem the cedar feedback model is a simple and effective feedback model that builds well on theAID model.
The BIFF feedback model:
This model, introduced to me by Eben Halford, combines elements from other models shared here:
Context – This is two things: Initially creating connection to the person and then framing the situation.
Observation – A clear description of thee behaviour observed in a clear and objective way. The focus here is the action, rather than the personality of the person involved. Be as acute, accurate and specific here as possible.
Impact – Outline the impact of the behaviour on those that are really impacted. Potentially you, the team, organisation and possibly customers.
Next – This stage is what needs to happen next, either in terms of continuing great behaviour or changing something if it is performance improving feedback.
Remember this model like all can be delivered by “push” that is telling or by “pull”, that is drawing it out from the person.
Unfortunately I have had a take down request for the content I wrote about this model:
Here is the model
SBI Model from CCL [Direct Link to their website]
I am a big fan of building a culture of feedback in organisations and I am certain that good quality feedback is essential to raising the performance for anybody in any organisation.
The problem with feedback though is that it looks, typically to poor or average performance in the past in order to correct the present or possibly improve performance in the future.
In addition to feedback, I think the Feedforward concept, a term coined by well known leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith, also helps people improve their performance.
Why Feedforward is effective:
There are many many reasons why feedforward is effective. Here are the six that I think are the most important:
- It is future orientated – If I ask for ideas to improve a competency in the future this gives me a positive guide to change
- It is positive – Asking at how to be even better at something creates a different mindset than that of dealing with negative feedback.
- Anyone can play – You can ask anyone that you know for ideas around Feedforward, where as feedback typically comes from a close peer or line manager
- You can play at anytime – Typically you react to feedback given to you when the person giving the feedback chooses to give it. With feedforward you can start right now.
- It is not taken personally – Feedforward is about asking for ideas to improve and as such it does not impact in the negative way that sometimes feedback is taken
- It is quick and efficient – getting ideas on how to improve a skills or ability takes a few minutes only and in a day you could reach out to several people. This would be far harder to do with feedback.
How to get Feedforward
Here is a simple process for getting feedforward:
- Pick a behaviour or competence that you would like to improve that would make a positive impact on your performance or life.
- Choose a handful of people to discuss this area with.
- Reach out and ask for 5 minutes of quality one on one time with these people
- Tell them that you want to be better at the behaviour or competence i.e. “I want to be a better presenter / time manager / listener etc , can you give me ideas that would help me”.
- Listen and only listen to the ideas.
- Thank the person and make some notes of what was said.
- When you have gone around all five people, reflect on the notes and ideas provided.
- Choose some to put into action.
I have written quite a lot about about one on one feedback recently but not taken the time to consider team feedback. As I was recently reading “Repeat the Remarkable” by Perry Holly (a truly excellent book by the way) he mentioned a technique for one on one feedback that I have used in team settings. This sparked me to write about a few ideas on how to provide effective feedback for teams. Below are some of the ideas I have used over the course of my work as a leader and then more recently as a team facilitator and team coach:
3 Tools for feedback to teams
1) Team 360 degree feedback : Like individual competency based 360 feedback teams can do the same. They can collect anonymous feedback, both quantitative and qualitative from each other and those around the team such as collaborators, partners, suppliers and customers. This information can then be developed into a report that would allow the team leader and members to discuss the feedback and consider areas to improve their performance. Two tools I use personally for this in my work is the Lencioni 360 and the Lominger Team Architect eTEAM 360 survey. These both allow people to feed in anonymously and provide clear feedback to the team on the areas where they need to improve the most.
2) Stop, Start, Continue: Based on the concept of traffic lights, this simply asks the team and others present in a workshop or meeting setting to provide feedback on:
- Things that the team should START doing because it currently does not do them.
- Things that the team should CONTINUE doing because they add value and drive performance.
- Things that the team should STOP doing because it decreases value and/or performance.
The way I typically run this is by having three posters / flip charts on a wall with the headings Stop,Start and Continue each on a separate poster. I then ask participants to write AT LEAST two ideas for each section on post it notes. Once everyone has finished writing they post them up and as the facilitator I cluster the similar ones together to create themes or areas of improvement. From that moment on the session turns into a facilitated conversation around feelings on the feedback and a prioritisation / action planning process to create change in the team.
3) Sail Boat: This is an “Innovation Games” tool that has been developed from Kurt Lewin’s Force Field diagram. It basically asks the team and peers, clients etc to consider two fundamental questions:
- What is the team doing that is driving or accelerating team performance?
- What is the team doing that is stoping it or slowing it down in terms of maintaining or raising team performance?
Team members write these up, like the previous activity on Post It Notes. This time around though they are posted on a flipchart that has a sail boat drawn in the middle. For the answers to Q1 “The wind that drives performance”, the bigger impact accelerators get placed higher up the page above the mid way point and the smaller ones remail closer to the centre or sail boat. The same process is carried out for the answers to Q2 which are in effect “The anchors that slow performance” The bigger issues are placed further down the page and the smaller ones are placed closer to the “water line”. By doing this you can quickly see what are the big drivers and restrainers of performance. These are in effect the arrows that Kurt Lewin developed in his original Force Field diagram. From here you can discuss and plan actions to create “more wind” or “remove the anchors” to drive team performance.
The feedback sandwich has been used time and time again as a method for providing effective feedback.
In my experience, and talking with hundreds of leadership training and management training course, we have found that is simply does not work.
For those that do not know, the feedback sandwich provides three pieces of feedback
- Firstly, a piece of positive feedback is given.
- Secondly, a critique, suggestion or piece of negative feedback is given.
- Thirdly, the sandwich is topped off with another slice of positive feedback.
Just like a real sandwich, eating a sandwich with good bread but with bad meat in the middle, isn’t enjoyable at all!
5 Reasons the feedback sandwich does not work
1) People know what is coming The feedback sandwich has been used so much, people walk into the feedback session already with a negative mindset of “I am going to be told some nice things, with some not great things camouflaged in between.” This does not aid clarity or the effectiveness of the feedback.
2) The bit that you want to get across is smothered in sweetness
It is quite easy to focus on the positive feedback and often the transition to the performance improvement feedback is done badly or in a way that does not signal the change in the conversation. Again this means that traction is lost on the performance improvement feedback.
3) Telling is not as effective as asking
Engaging team members in a two way conversation is more likely to create better results as the issue is explored and solutions are co-created.
4) People leave confused
Because of the mixed messages people quickly become unsure about which ones they should action or what they should do next.
5) There are far many better ways
The idea of the feedback sandwich is quite old although many people are still peddling it. Over recent years many more effective models of feedback have been developed.
Alternatives to the feedback sandwich
Each each feedback session is unique and there is no perfect way of giving praise or performance improving feedback.
Having said that there are some ways of structuring feedback that I know work from personal experience and coaching and training leaders to give feedback.
There are many different ways you can structure your feedback. On this age you can find more appropriate models.
I have been focusing over the last month on developing a series of articles around giving and receiving feedback. As I was developing these I was reflecting on all the excuses I heard heard from leaders around the world over the last twenty years about why they did not give feedback or it did not have a high priority on their agenda. Here are the top ones I have heard again and again and some ideas on how to ensure you do not have the same feedback giving blockages!
Top 5 feedback excuses
1) I don’t have the time! Managers and leaders are paid to perform and to deliver performance through their teams. The team members can only perform at their best if they know how they are doing and how they could improve.
Recommendation: look to spend AT LEAST one hour a week in one to ones with team members. Part of this time will be catch up and a significant portion should be feedback and coaching. These do not have to be face to face,
2) I don’t know where to start!
I find many managers are simply too busy being busy and so do not know when and how to start giving feedback. A good leader should be looking for opportunities on an ongoing basis to provide praise and performance improvement feedback.
Recommendation: Make a feedback diary – write down in a notebook, PC or tablet the things that you see your team members so well and not so well for a couple of weeks. Then take some in your one on ones to share your ideas.
3) I do not know how to structure the feedback!
Most managers and leaders lack formal training on leading teams. Any good basic management or leadership skills course should provide a framework for delivering and practising giving framework.
Recommendation: Read through and apply the ideas in several of my other posts, particularly the BOOST modelaround giving feedback and the AID model which looks at how feedback is structured.
4) I am unsure how they will take it!
Unless the feedback is really, really bad and the style it is provided in is really, really poor most people will take both praise and performance improving feedback positively.
Recommendations: 1) Spend time thinking through and preparing what you will say AND when in the conversation create a positive tone. 2) Create a two way conversation, where you help the person truly understand the feedback and in the case of performance enhancing feedback, how they can improve the way they do things.
5} It is not clear to me when is the best time to give feedback!
Managers and leaders find themselves rather busy and see their team members in the same situation. Providing feedback does not have to take long, perhaps a few minutes can do the trick sometimes.
Recommendations: 1) Look to give the feedback as soon as possible after the action, task or activity took place. 2) Ensure you have sufficient privacy to provide the feedback and discuss next steps.
Over the last few months I have written a series of articles on preparing, framing and giving feedback to people in organisations. This final, tenth article, looks at feedback from the other side and considers areas to be considered when receiving performance improving feedback.
Leave A Comment