Click here to view the 60 Minutes segment on Gen Y:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3475200.shtml              

 

Before describing best practices for providing effective feedback, let’s start with what is not effective. Calling a junior into your office and launching into a tirade that describes everything he or she did wrong won’t get you far. Rather, the most effective feedback begins with a conversation in an environment where all parties feel comfortable describing their experiences and perceptions. For feedback to be truly useful, everyone participating in the session must begin by adopting an attitude of, “First I wish to understand.  Then I wish to be understood.”

 

To ensure that this understanding takes place, begin by asking questions in a very non-hostile manner. By taking this approach, you’ll ensure an understanding of what has or has not taken place. The goal is to avoid what I suspect every one of us has experienced at some point in our lives: being unfairly criticized for some act or non-act, simply because the person providing the criticism did not know all of the facts related to the matter.

 

Before you even begin to provide feedback, think through a series of questions that will help you uncover all of the facts pertaining to a particular situation. Consider the following questions as examples:

 

 
Probing           Better in what way . . . ?

 

Link                You said you find it difficult to speak up in
                                 our team meetings?

 
Evaluative      Do you think that would really work?

                                                 

Once you have developed a list of questions, invite the junior to meet with you. Where you schedule that meeting and the amount of time you set aside for it should vary according to the behavioral and emotional needs of the person with whom you will meet. Some juniors will respond best to a supervisor who asks a few questions, communicates an improved understanding of the situation, quickly suggests next steps, and then moves on. Others will respond better to the supervisor who tones down his or her voice, slows the pace of speech, and connects first on a personal level before providing feedback regarding work. To be most effective in your own role as a supervisor, adjust both the message and the delivery according to the needs of the recipient.

 

When you begin to provide actual feedback, stay focused on the particular situation at hand; for example, concentrate on a document that was not adequately proofread rather than focusing on the person who was in charge of the task.  It is absolutely appropriate to say, “I found five typos in this three page document. I am concerned about the number of errors I found.” It is not appropriate or helpful to say, “Your work is sloppy. I always find tons of typos in the documents you produce.” 

 

Begin by describing the situation. Be as specific as possible regarding the subject with which you are giving feedback. Ask additional questions as needed to clarify and confirm your understanding.   An effective feedback session might sound something like this: “I just had the opportunity to read the section of the memo you drafted. I found five typos in a three page document.  Can you tell me how and why that happened? How close to error-free do you think I expect a document to be before it is shared with me?”

 

As the junior describes the situation from his or her perspective, listen carefully to the response.  Please note, the art of listening differs significantly from the practice of hearing. While the latter is passive, requiring little brain activity on the part of the hearer, true listening requires meaningful thought and active participation. Use verbal cues. Consider saying, “Oh, now I see what happened. You understood that I wanted only your top of mind, initial thoughts as quickly as possible.” Further communicate your understanding via various nonverbal cues; for example, nod to encourage the junior to fully explain his or her perspective. When appropriate, ask additional questions to further enhance your understanding. 

 

Finally, both supervisors and juniors benefit most when they jointly agree to next steps. For example, a junior might say, “I realize now that I have been relying on spell-check. From now on, I will make sure that in addition to spell-check, I will physically proof any assignment I turn into you.” And of course, to this comment, it would be helpful to reply, “I can’t tell you how much I would appreciate that.”