I have been listening to the podcast “Manager Tools” for over 10 years and practicing their recommendations in my own company and projects.

Mark and Mike got together after their retirement for this cast and went into detail regarding the “The Purpose of Feedback” in a 3 part podcast series.

I summarized the three podcasts to make sure these gems are committed to memory.

The purpose of feedback is to:

Encourage effective future behavior

Organizations can’t really “encourage” so the task of encouragement falls onto a manager.

It doesn’t matter if the feedback is negative or positive. There is only one feedback model. (see below)

The tone of all feedback is positive to “encourage”.

Encouragement creates stronger relationships, Stronger relationships improve trust. Trust improves results and retention. Results and retention are the two key deliverables of every manager in the world.

Effective feedback doesn’t focus on the mistakes. Trying to do a root cause analysis will result in feedback that is too long. The purpose of feedback is not to talk about the mistake.

The shorter the model is, the better. 10-minute feedback session will result in you not providing feedback, but 10 seconds of feedback will be more effective. Feedback should be about small things, don’t try to accumulate a pattern of behavior.

Simply ask for something different in the future. Make it about the organization and not the individual. Describes a gap between what they did and what the goals and objectives are.

Feedback is a verbal measure of a directs contribution or lack of contribution to the mission and goals of the organization. (Some directs might feel judged, and you may need to say that you are not judging.) Managers and professionals don’t judge. They plan and measure.)

This is where you are, relative to what the organization needs from you.

Managers jobs are not to look for mistakes, but to encourage staff to be effective. Fear-based tactics don’t work and don’t help with retention.

Steps to give feedback

1. Hey, can I give you some feedback?
2. When you did that thing you did. (behavior)
3. The outcome that happened
4. Thank you, well done/Can you work on that? Can you do that differently?
   

The purpose of feedback is either, change their behavior in the future or do more of the same in the future. Don’t punish people or spend a lot of time talking about the past because that erodes trust. There is nothing you can do about the past.

Behavior is the engine of all systemic organizational success: not systems, processes, code, margins profit.

It is all about behavior. Behaviors have to be aligned to goals.

Motivations, intents, and attitudes. Intent is not what is important for the organization, so focus on behaviors. Motivation trap: All motivation is self motivation.

Behaviors can’t be faked. No need to guess or interpret.

Aggregated effective behavior leads to results.

Give feedback only about behaviors. Behaviors that you can give feedback on are:

1. The words you say
2. How you say them
3. Your facial expressions
4. Your body language
5. Work product: Quantity, Quality, Accuracy, Timeliness, Documentation, Safety
   

When receiving negative feedback, directs will want to switch the conversation to what they meant. Tell them you know they meant well. Intent is not what is important for the organization.

All work behaviors are available to everyone all of the time (meritocracy). The manager needs to know what behaviors to ask for that align with the organization’s goals.

Use this model to stop the manager’s judgment and arrogant teaching.

Effective management is all about behaviors.

Summary: Encourage effective future behavior.

Here are links to the three individual podcast episodes.

1. The Purpose of Feedback – Part 1
2. The Purpose of Feedback – Part 2
3. The Purpose of Feedback – Part 3
   

There is a full page of Podcasts related to feedback.