Rethinking Feedback: Does It Actually Work?
Feedback is generally seen as a positive and necessary thing. Some say the social media craze laid the foundation for it, while others argue that millennials initiated this wave we're all riding now—the idea that we all need to be constantly aware of how we're perceived by those around us in order to succeed and grow.
Its adoption in the workplace and other development spaces, as a mechanism for personal or professional growth, has its upsides. For one, it alleviates the burden on leaders and team members to cram a year's worth of input into a single annual performance review. But the downside is, more often than not, the feedback we give doesn't really help people.
Back when I was running yoga teacher trainings, part of my role involved giving critical feedback to trainees as well as teaching them how to give and get feedback from each other. Looking back, I can see those sessions did more harm than good, and it boils down to two behavioral tendencies we all have that muddle the process:
Behavioral Biases and Feedback
Imagine you're leading a teacher training and a trainee shows up late. You might suppress your annoyance and form a story in your mind about them being a disorganized person or lacking integrity. This is you crafting a narrative, attributing their lateness to their personality rather than considering external factors like a traffic jam or a childcare scramble. This is an example of the Fundamental Attribution Error at work. This bias points to our tendency to, if someone's actions irritate us, quickly assume it's due to a flaw in their character, not their situation.
Flip the script, and when we're the ones arriving late, we're much more forgiving of ourselves, blaming everything but our own choices. If our tardiness irritates someone else, in our minds, it's only because they don't understand the bind we're in. This is the Actor-Observer Bias.
These two biases lead us to believe that actions, whether good or bad, reflect an individual's character. Consequently, we often assume that the best way to help someone improve is to offer critical personal feedback on their character, aiming to correct what we perceive as flaws. However, this approach is problematic for several reasons: 1) It's flawed because observations made on a few occasions may not accurately represent someone's true patterns; 2) It's unbalanced since we tend to focus on negatives, making us more likely to highlight what we think isn't working rather than acknowledging what is; 3) Feedback on character is unlikely to be effective, as research indicates that our personalities are quite fixed after the age of 25.
The outcomes I observed in those teacher trainings—with many of the trainees 'quiet quitting' the training and not proceeding to teach—underscore how feedback can lead to disengagement or worse.
Lessons from Gallup on Feedback + Engagement
The Gallup Organization conducted a comprehensive study on workplace engagement, surveying employees about the type of feedback they received from their leaders—whether it focused on their strengths, their weaknesses, or if they felt somewhat ignored.
The findings were revealing: neglecting your team proves to be the most detrimental approach, comparable to relying exclusively on annual performance reviews without providing feedback in the meantime. Interestingly, receiving negative feedback was found to be more beneficial for engagement than receiving no feedback at all. However, positive feedback, which emphasizes employees' strengths, led to the highest levels of engagement.
What implications does this have for the practice of giving feedback? The study suggests that it's not really feedback people need; rather, it's attention.
Being noticed—whether through positive or negative attention—is preferable to being overlooked. People yearn to be acknowledged. Yet, the most significant engagement occurs when this attention is positive. Acknowledging people's achievements, particularly when they are at their best, greatly enhances their motivation, quality of work, and development.
There are certainly times, especially when the goal is to reduce failure or achieve proficiency at a task, when it might be necessary to point out deficiencies in someone’s actions without implying these actions reflect their character.
However, if the goal of feedback is to facilitate growth, improve engagement, performance, and achieve excellence, Gallup’s research indicates that positive feedback—or recognition—is the most effective way to accomplish this.
Getting Recognition Right
To do this, you need to pay attention to the good things happening with your team and make sure to point them out. As humans, we tend to notice the bad more than the good, so it's important to make an intentional effort to spot the wins. When you see someone doing something right, tell them. Best practices are:
Encourage team members to take the CliftonStrengths assessment and then discuss their results with them. Ask questions and actively listen to learn about who they are, what their best looks like, and what forms of recognition they prefer.
According to Gallup's latest analysis of 10,000 workgroups across 30 industries, individualization is key when it comes to recognition. For recognition to be meaningful, it must be tailored to the recipient's preferences, rather than the giver's preferences. Use what you learn about their strengths and preferences to personalize and tailor their recognition.
Finally, recognition is most effective when it is specific. 'Great job!' or ‘Thanks!’ is Ok, but ‘When you partnered with me to get the proposal done, I really saw your “Achiever” talent, and I was able to accomplish what would have been more challenging and taken longer otherwise.’ is better.
The data shows that critical feedback is better than ignoring your team if you want them to be engaged. However, when we observe and listen for strengths in our team members, acknowledging the positive actions we see and the impact those actions have on us, it keeps them engaged and supports their growth better.
Discover Your Strength at Giving Recognition
If you’re a leader and you want to get better at recognizing strengths in your team, coaching might be your next step. Click >> here to chat with me for 30 minutes and see how we can work together.
