Feedback should never be a surprise or come in bulk, it should be provided as soon as is possible, as soon as it becomes relevant.

Here are some tips for providing effective feedback:

  1. Be specific: Provide specific examples of behaviours or actions you observed rather than making generalizations or assumptions about the individual's performance.
  2. Be balanced: Provide feedback that is both positive and constructive. Highlight areas where the individual excels and areas where they could improve. Apply critical thinking to help best the individual succeed. No one is perfect, nor are we expected to be.
  3. Be objective: Focus on the individual's performance and behaviours rather than their personality or personal characteristics. Disliking someone does not mean they will receive negative feedback or are incapable of doing their jobs.
  4. Be timely: Provide feedback promptly rather than waiting until a formal review. This is a way of respecting both the individual and the review process.
  5. Be respectful: Provide feedback respectfully and constructively, avoiding harsh or critical language. Always try to deliver feedback verbally, as it results in less room for mis-interpretation of intent.
  6. Be actionable: Provide actionable feedback, offering suggestions for improvement or areas where individuals can focus their development efforts.

Examples of constructive feedback:

  1. "Your dedication and commitment to the project are commendable and helped us meet our deadlines. What we need moving forward is more proactive communication. At times, updates surfaced at the last minute, leading to confusion and delays, so allowing the team to get ahead by sharing context would help.”
  2. "Your clear and concise communication in 1.1s is very insightful. Your thoughtful questions and contributions have clarified our goals. Focus on seeking feedback more proactively. Your experience makes you a valuable resource, and actively seeking feedback and sharing your insights more often would benefit the whole team.”
  3. “While you excel in identifying problems, consider delving deeper into the root causes. A more thorough analysis can lead to more effective and lasting solutions.”
  4. “It would be good to see you try to question your assumptions and biases. Sometimes, unconscious assumptions can limit your critical thinking. Challenging your own biases may help broaden your perspective and would be beneficial for the team.”

Team accountability (+commitments)

Accountability is essential for a high-performance culture. We must all be held accountable for our decisions, actions and results. We make it an explicit habit to hold each other accountable to the timeframes we set for delivery and every retro when we're talking about things that went wrong (as part of a blameless self-mortem) to

(1) Ask probing, curiosity-led questions about a situation or problem, which increases our awareness of where the issues were