Unlocking Potential: The Power of Effective Feedback

Eva’s team seamlessly launched a new enterprise technology. Still, when presenting to senior leadership, Sam, Eva’s boss, felt the presentation fell flat and Eva missed the opportunity to showcase her and her team’s achievements. Sam even had to step in to answer a couple of questions. Meeting with Eva privately after the presentation, Sam conveyed that the presentation could have gone better. However, since he did not provide Eva with actionable feedback and specifics, the meeting left her confused and disappointed.

What went wrong?

Feedback is a powerful tool for driving engagement within the workplace when it is meaningful and approachable. In fact, Gallup data has shown that 80% of employees who have recently received meaningful feedback report being fully engaged. The same study also showed that employees who receive daily feedback are 3.6 times more likely to be motivated to do outstanding work.

Effective feedback doesn’t just drive workplace engagement–a growing number of employees expect to receive feedback regularly, especially younger generations. In a recent survey, 73% of Gen Z employees said they would resign if they did not receive regular feedback from their managers. Additionally, 51% of Millennial employees agree that feedback should be regularly or continuously given.

Despite the powerful effects of meaningful feedback, employee engagement continues to stagnate, with 33% of employees unengaged in 2023. While a multitude of factors may be driving this trend, Gallup has identified feedback as one of the largest areas of decline. This isn’t entirely surprising, considering only 14.5% of managers agree they are effective at giving feedback. Employees feel similarly about the feedback they receive–only 16% feel their last conversation with a manager was meaningful. Even more surprising is that two-thirds of managers feel uncomfortable communicating with employees.

Thus, it’s very likely that the reason employees aren’t getting the feedback they desire isn’t because managers don’t want to provide it. Instead, a lack of skills and experience is likely holding managers back. To overcome this roadblock, organizations must identify a method that works for the individual providing the feedback and aligns with company culture.

An effective method for communicating feedback is the SBI method, which focuses on Situation, Behavior, and Impact. Managers can use this approach to frame the feedback conversation by clearly articulating the situation that occurred, the behavior(s) observed, and their impact on the people involved, the team, the work, or the overall organization. These components are critical for the feedback recipient to understand and process how their behaviors affect others and the organization.

Let’s break down each of the model’s components and how managers can leverage the SBI method to deliver feedback:

• Situation: Anchored in time and place, the situation should describe where and when the behavior occurred. When providing feedback, be specific so that the recipient can go back to the time and place of the behavior. Be sure to describe who was there, why you were there, and what happened just before or after the behavior.
• Behavior: Based on observable actions, the behavior should only be something that can be heard or seen (i.e., behaviors recorded on video or captured by an audio recorder). When providing feedback, be specific so the recipient knows exactly what they did that impacted you or others. Avoid making judgments when describing behaviors (i.e., you were angry or you were a good listener).
• Impact: The impact of a behavior should consider how it affected you, others, the team, or the organization as a whole. Describe how you felt (i.e., determined, excited, happy, impressed, relaxed, angry, distracted, frustrated, sad, or worried) and what actions you took. If relevant to the situation, describe how the behavior affected the thoughts, feelings, or actions of others and how it affected specific tasks, the team, or the organization.

Using this as a framework for discussing a situation, the feedback provider and recipient can work together to determine an appropriate action plan and when to meet again to align on progress and provide additional feedback. The most important thing to remember is that becoming proficient at delivering meaningful and effective feedback takes practice. When leaders begin to develop this skill, it can be difficult and uncomfortable but repeating it will have profound benefits in the workplace. Over time, delivering feedback will become easier, and the relationships between leaders and their team members will strengthen.

Let’s take another look at our manager, who was previously unable to provide meaningful feedback.

After honing his skills and learning the SBI method, Sam had another opportunity to deliver feedback for Eva. Since their last meeting left Eva with unactionable feedback to improve her presentations, her next presentation still didn’t align with Sam’s expectations. This time, Sam articulated his observations of the situation, what behaviors he noticed, and what the impact was on him and her audience. With the specific feedback she received, Eva felt more engaged with her work and experienced a boost in her trust level with Sam.  These seemingly simple, but impactful changes in the way Sam delivered feedback allowed Eva to see her presentations from a different perspective, thus improving her preparation, organization, and delivery for her next opportunity. Sam saw the results immediately and was able to build on Eva’s development with this “win”.

Need more support in upskilling your leaders to provide impactful feedback?  Contact us at Connect the Dots to find out more about how we can help you strengthen your organization’s leadership.