Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Your goal for Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Feedback: Giving It and Taking It: Peer to peer: “The recommendation appears before the evidence, so I found the logic difficult to follow. By the end, you should be able to give correction without accusation and receive criticism without collapse or defensiveness.

Turn a label into evidence

Rewrite “You are careless with client details.” Name the observable event, its effect and the standard for the next version. Do not add praise merely to make the correction less uncomfortable.

Use observation, effect, request: Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Feedback changes with the relationship

Peer to peer: “The recommendation appears before the evidence, so I found the logic difficult to follow. Could we move the two findings above it?”

Manager to report: “The client update omitted the revised date. That left the customer without a decision point. Future updates need the date, owner and next checkpoint in the opening section.”

Upward feedback: “When priorities change during the meeting without a written recap, I am unsure which task to stop. Could we confirm the final order before we close?”

Listen to the upward-feedback model

Receive criticism in five moves

1. Pause before explaining your intention.
2. Ask for one example if the comment is broad.
3. Restate the issue to check that you understood it.
4. Separate what you accept, what needs evidence and what may be outside scope.
5. Agree the next action and when it will be checked.

You do not have to agree with every interpretation. You do need to understand the evidence before rejecting it.

Intention and effect can both be true

“I intended to be concise” and “the message sounded abrupt” can both be accurate. Treating intention as a complete defence blocks improvement. Treating effect as proof of bad intent is equally unhelpful.

A productive repair sounds like this: “I intended to keep the update short, but I can see that removing the reason made the request sound abrupt. I will add the reason and the next step.”

Feedback habits that reduce trust

• Using always, never or everyone when you have one example.
• Giving a character judgment instead of a behavioural observation.
• Hiding the correction between unrelated compliments.
• Correcting a person publicly when a private conversation would work.
• Receiving feedback as an order to accept every opinion or extra scope.

Practise both sides of the conversation: Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

1. Give feedback on a report with unsupported conclusions.
2. Give upward feedback about priorities changing without confirmation.
3. Respond to “Your emails are confusing” by asking for a useful example.
4. Separate a client’s genuine quality concern from a new feature request.
5. Give specific positive feedback that the recipient can repeat.

Check the evidence and the next action

Record the conversation from both chairs: Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Write a two-role feedback conversation, then speak both roles. In the second recording, remove one accusation from the giver and one defensive explanation from the receiver.

Reuse one earlier workplace decision: Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Start with The last two client summaries used the old account name.. Add one relevant move from the previous lesson, such as a clear owner, deadline, condition or reason. Remove it if it does not help the recipient act.

Feedback should reduce uncertainty: Feedback: Giving It and Taking It

Describe observable work, explain the effect and request a specific change. When receiving feedback, clarify the evidence, separate intention from effect and agree the next testable action.