Performance Feedback

How to Evaluate an Individual’s Performance  Determine your “core message”  Identify the key elements  Muster your courage to tell the truth

Providing Constructive Feedback  Be direct when delivering your message. Get to the point, don’t delay or stall, give it in a straight- forward manner.  Avoid “need to” phrases. Feedback with a phrase such as “You need to get your case plans in on a timely basis” implies that something did not go well, but what exactly is unclear.  Be sincere and avoid giving mixed messages. Mixed messages are of the “yes, but” variety and essentially tell the person who you are giving the feedback to, to not believe a thing said before the word, ‘but’.

Providing Constructive Feedback  In positive feedback situations, express appreciation. After providing concrete information about the positive performance, express appreciation for the worker’s efforts.  In negative feedback situations, express concern. Using a tone of concern, you communicate sincerity and the importance of your feedback. When feedback is delivered when angry, harsh, or sarcastic, the message gets lost.

Providing Constructive Feedback  State observations, not interpretations. Observations are what you see occur while interpretations are how you analyze the situation. Constructive feedback should be about noticed behaviors, not how you characterize the situation or interpret it. Interpretations are judgment-laden while observations are more factual. For example, an interpretation is, “You’ve been cranky and uncooperative all day today” while an observation is, “I noticed that you laid your head on your desk today and you did not answer your phone when it rang and it has me concerned.” Use “I” or “we” messages.

More About Giving Feedback  Provide specific examples. The more recent the examples, and the more clearly they illustrate the behaviors and their effects, the better.  Keep in mind that the receiver must be able to take concrete action based on the feedback.  Try to understand the factors contributing to the behavior of the person to whom you are providing feedback.  Indicate a sincere willingness to help.

Dealing with Difficult Discussions - Excuses  Excuses are the most common discussion difficulty. We often foolishly argue with the merits of the excuse, and by doing so legitimatize it.  Our response needs to focus, not on the excuse, but on the issue of personal responsibility.  Agree with the fact of the excuse: “I agree, Mark. Having deadlines that frequently change in the middle of a project does make your work difficult.” Then put the responsibility back where it belongs: “As we have discussed before, changing deadlines is a fact of life in our business. How are you planning to handle that challenge so you can make sure that your projects are always ready when they’re needed?”

Leadership courage is required to assess performance and provide candid, constructive and positive feedback and get the truth into performance appraisal.