How to Conduct Team Assessments and Provide Performance Feedback

If you're worried giving constructive feedback to a direct report will damage the relationship, this process is for you: 1 // Set the expectation that feedback will be an ongoing initiative Tell the team you care about their growth and development. Beginning this quarter, you will provide them with quarterly feedback. 2 // Set the goal posts You may be thinking to yourself, “We’re in Q4. I don’t have time to set up a performance plan!” I get that! But there’s no time like the present to take your team to the next level. Tell them that you will set 1:1 meetings with them. They will tell you what they'll accomplish by the end of the quarter. 3 // Check in on progress with 1:1s Schedule 1:1s with your team every 1-2 weeks. Don't cancel or postpone them. Ask them how they are doing on achieving their goals. These meetings will increase the odds of success by refocusing the team on their goals. Don't be afraid to ask a question like: "what will you achieve by our next meeting?" or "you said you would call the customer by yesterday, why didn't you?" 4 // Keep notes on progress After your 1:1 meetings, record a few simple, specific comments in a Word doc, Apple Notes, etc. Make a file per individual. After every meeting, add a new line for the date, and a few bullet points. 5 // Conduct the quarterly feedback session Here are the questions: - "How did the quarter go?" - " Let's review the outcomes for each of your goals. Walk me through the results." - "I'd like to share some specific feedback based on what I've observed over the quarter." Feedback needs to be specific. Use the file for positive and constructive feedback. - "What help do you need from me?" This process has been a game-changer for me.

Managers struggle in their first leadership role. I know that I initially did... Suddenly at the head of a team responsible for course content used by 100s of trainers and 1000s of students, I found myself up the proverbial creek. How do I plan our projects for the year ahead? What strategy do I set? What's a budget? And I really didn't even consider such soft skills like how to support or motivate the team. However, the most difficult aspect was feedback. Without a good manager who could model how to provide feedback, I felt confused. What should I say? When should I give feedback? What if the employee disagrees with me? And I really didn't even consider how any feedback fits into long-term development. This brings me to my point... Here are 5 tips for better feedback. 💡 You need to be direct in the feedback that you give. Although easy to do with positive feedback, you might use weak language with difficult or negative information. Unfortunately, when you hint or sidestep around the negative, employees may not fully understand the seriousness of the issue. 💡 You need to also give guidance. You cannot simply say "work on A, B, or C," because the employee likely doesn't know where to start or what specific steps will resolve the problem. You will need to provide specific information, resources, and direction. 💡 You need to follow up. It's not a one, done, and a return to happy land. Followup demonstrates the importance of the feedback, and also that you care about the person and their ongoing development. 💡 You need to practice active listening skills. This means that you ask questions to more deeply understand the issue or concern. Remember: Feedback should be part of a conversation. In other words, you talk *with* the person, not *at* the person. 💡 Feedback is ongoing. If you only give feedback at the annual performance appraisal or when there is a problem, then you don't empower your team to overcome future challenges. You will want to give feedback in 1:1s, impromptu meetings, and even casual chats too. PS. I really hope someone is able to give better feedback with these tips. Is there anything you would add to the list? 🔔 Follow Chris Cotter for more on #leadership.

As a leader, giving feedback is essential to the success of our team. Feedback is more than a conversation, it’s a tool for team growth and transformation. The issue that I find is that most leaders are not comfortable giving constructive feedback. Praise is easy, but being constructive can be challenging.   I think of feedback in three ways: balance, specificity, and timeliness.   Balance is about the equilibrium of positive reinforcement and constructiveness. As a leader, if you’re only telling your team what they can do to improve, your team may think they can’t do anything right. On the flip side, if you’re only giving your team praise, that may not suffice your team’s goal to improve. Not every feedback session needs to have positivity and constructiveness, but I suggest thinking about feedback as a collective. Balanced feedback elicits trust and shows a holistic view of your team’s overall performance.   Specificity is about precision. Vague feedback leaves room for interpretation. As a leader, you want your team to walk away from the conversation with a clear picture of what happened and how their behavior was received or praised. The goal is to have a discussion that is concrete and identifiable. Trying to unpack 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 is challenging. Unpacking 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 is easier to identify where to improve. Being clear and specific empowers your team to take the necessary steps for improvement.   Timeliness is about promptness. The closer the feedback is to when the behavior occurred is the essential (and arguably the most important) part of raising your team’s caliber. When feedback is delivered timely it ensures the context is fresh, relevant, and easily retrievable in our memory. Telling your team about their behavior in a meeting 3 weeks ago does not hold the same weight as bringing it up soon after the meeting. Being timely ensures relevance and an opportunity for individual reflection on the experience.     As a leader, incorporating feedback seamlessly into routine interactions is crucial. As an employee, I’ve always valued feedback as it helps me improve. I understand that as a leader, the delivery and timeliness of feedback are even MORE crucial to be beneficial rather than confusing. Be the leader who is great at giving feedback that empowers and motivates their team to be successful. We are leaders of people. We have a unique opportunity to help our teams grow and feedback is a key part of that process. The quickest way of finding your own success is to help others be successful.    #Leadership