Giving effective feedback
a series of articles on giving critical feedback that's SMART
Many of us struggle with giving feedback, especially critique. It may feel to the heart and brain like conflict. We may be nervous that the recipient of our feedback doesn’t want to hear it. We may expect the conversation to be uncomfortable, fraught with risk. We don’t want to do it. But as leaders, we have to. And to be honest, it doesn’t feel much better to be on the receiving end of a critique. There must be a way to do this better, to give feedback that is constructive rather than destructive, feedback that results in real transformation rather than parting ways.
In this article, I introduce a model for giving helpful feedback that can lead to true growth and improvement. In coming articles, I’ll dig more deeply into the components of the model, giving examples of critiques that are unhelpful and some that are more effective. The wrap-up will include a workbook that enables you to explore and define the feedback you need to give, a framework to build a structure for lasting change and growth.
At its best, a critique is a new goal that a manager or supervisor sets with their employee, a collaborative goal with real objectives that show what success looks like. They’re looking for changes, and they’re looking for measurable improvements in the employee’s work. In short, they’re looking for SMART.
You’re probably already familiar with the SMART technique for goal-setting, the acronym standing for a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound. For example, you might hear feedback that says “Your writing isn’t professional enough.” What does that mean? What makes writing “professional” or “unprofessional”? What do I need to change to improve it? This feedback fails at being specific, and it fails to give measurable expectations. How long do I have to improve my writing? What does success look like?
Instead, SMART feedback might sound like “Your writing uses passive voice too often, when it needs to be very direct. I’ve found some resources you might find helpful. I’d like to see you using passive voice less frequently, in only 5% of the sentences you write. Let’s discuss how we can get from here to there.” This feedback opens a conversation with a specific aspect of what makes my writing “not professional enough.” It gives a measurable outcome and invites discussion of how to make this goal realistic and attainable, in which we decide together on a due date and milestones. It’s a collaboration between my manager and me, where we both contribute to my development and growth. The leader has to invest more of their time and energy up front, but this investment pays off when your employee becomes more successful and needs less of your time.
I’ve added two more letters to the SMART model, specifically for giving and receiving feedback. The full acronym becomes SMARTED.
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timebound
E = Empathetic
D = Direct.
Inner Tools: Review and Reflect
We have used the “Review and Reflect” inner tool before, in the “How to grow as a leader” series. It is just as its title says: a brief time of reviewing some event and reflecting on it to see what you’ve learned. You’ll need a few things for your Review and Reflect session: a timer and your favorite note-taking app, notebook, or voice recorder. Here’s what you’ll do.
Set your timer for no more than 15 to 20 minutes. We don’t want to spend the entire day dwelling on the past, just one focused session.
Bring to mind a time when you had to give difficult feedback or receive a critique. You might feel big emotions about this critique. That’s okay. Recall that this is simply one past event that doesn’t get to define who you are. Only you get to define who you are.
Review what happened in the critique, what was said, how you felt about it, what was the outcome.
And then reflect. Some questions you might ask include
What did you notice about the other person in the feedback scenario?
Was this feedback fair? Not good/bad or right/wrong, but a fair assessment of the behaviors?
Did you have a solid understanding of the changes that were needed?
Did this critique result in the changes that were needed?
When the timer stops, it’s time to stop the session. You can finish jotting down notes, but it’s time to wrap up the session for today.
Later, you might want to review your notes from the Review and Reflect session. When you do, you might decide you have more questions to ask yourself; if so, you can schedule another session for tomorrow. It’s always good to have a night’s sleep between sessions like these; your brain has a superpower for integrating new knowledge during sleep.
Wrap up
We may look back at your notes from this session as we explore the SMARTED framework in upcoming articles. This was the first introductory article in a series on giving and receiving critical feedback. Over the next few weeks, we’ll focus on each element of SMARTED individually, examining the tools and techniques you already have for giving effective critiques that don’t smart. The goal is improvement and transformation in your organization, while maintaining trust, support, and psychological safety. When others see that you are truly interested in your people, they recognize your leadership and even want you to be their leader.
Additional Resources
How To Give Feedback Most Effectively, Center for Creative Leadership
How to Give Feedback: 5 Ways to Remain Constructive in Difficult Conversations, Alana Fallis, People Managing People
How To Deliver Effective Feedback: 20 Key Leadership Maxims, Forbes Coaches Council
Cedar Feedback Model, Anna Wildman