What does good feedback sound like? What voices, or ways of expressing yourself, do you need to enable feedback to be both critical and constructive? How can you give better feedback that’s likely to make a difference?
Let’s start with an example of how not to to do it.
I used to work with a manager called Jimmy and one day, glancing out of the window while we were in a meeting together, he suddenly said, ‘There’s MacTaggart arriving late again. I must have a word with him.’ That was on the Monday and the first thing that Jimmy got wrong was not giving his feedback promptly. I know that, because I was with him again on the Thursday, when he finally did. We were walking through the factory together to another meeting, when he suddenly peeled away and went over to the bench where the unsuspecting target of his feedback was working. ‘MacTaggart,’ said Jimmy sternly, ‘You’re getting a reputation.’ He accompanied his words with a slow, hard look. ‘Sort your act out.’
