How to give feedback in the workplace

Recent research at Harvard Business School has shown that negative feedback rarely leads to improvement. In fact, negative feedback manifests itself as a psychological threat and can have behavioural and physical consequences such as lethargy, anxiety, and depression. But, of course, negative feedback or constructive feedback is how we learn our blind spots and improve. So we’ve put together some key tips from this research as well as other sources on giving feedback

1. Firstly, people need to feel valued so accompany negative feedback with validation of who people are and of their value to the organisation. Make it a positive process if it’s a formal appraisal.
2. Give feedback regularly. I was shocked when a colleague once told me that she had never received positive feedback from her colleagues. Positive feedback is rewarding and uplifting. It can make somebody’s day! Build feedback into your day-to-day working with colleagues and create a learning and supportive culture.
3. Give much more positive feedback than negative. The magic ratio of positive to negative feedback is 5:1 according to research at Michigan Business School and profiled by the Harvard Business Review here. This ratio helps the team perform better - so what’s not to love?
4. Be specific. There’s nothing worse than ‘That’s a lovely painting’ or ‘Great article!’. Again research has shown (yes - we are research geeks!) that feedback is appreciated and listened to if it’s specific. For example, ‘I love the way you used colour in that painting’ or ‘I loved that article that you wrote - it made me think about the issue in a completely different way’.
5. Keep it factual and impersonal. Keeping the feedback on the specifics and facts rather than becoming personal is very important, particularly for negative feedback. It may also be your interpretation of the situation.

Feedback can help us grow, can help organisations run more efficiently, and can make our jobs much more enjoyable and fulfilling. So well worth getting right. And finally, remember to be kind. Kindness can be quite unusual in the workplace - crazy, right? We think that our workplaces will be better and more productive places to work if they are filled with kindness. So go, Wonder Woman, unleash your fabulousness and kindness on your workplace and watch your colleagues grow in confidence and your organisation run more smoothly.