Feedback made easy
How often do you need to give feedback to someone, yet struggle with how that feedback will be received by the other person? Struggle no more, for the Center for Creative Leadership has come up with SBI: Situation, Behavior, Impact. Remember SBI next time you need to do it right. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/closing-the-gap-between-intent-and-impact/
Situation
Describe the situation in which the behavior in question occurred. Be very specific. If you generalize the timeframe, the person may get confused and become defensive and as a result, not listen to the rest of what you want to say. Try beginning with, “This Monday at our staff meeting….” as opposed to “Last week…” will help to eliminate unnecessary confusion. Don’t wait, the more immediate the better. If you hold off too long, the person will wonder what else you have saved up to tell them.
Behavior
Next, describe the actual, observable behavior. Be factual, not judgmental. Don’t try to analyze why the person may have behaved this way. It is not your job to assume or analyze. Think along the lines of “You interrupted me while I was telling the team about the monthly budget,” instead of “You were rude.”
Impact
Now that you’ve set up a clear picture of the behavior, you can describe the impact and how it affected you or your fellow team members. “When you interrupted me, it broke my train of thought. I want to hear your perspective on the budget, but I’ve found it works better if I give everyone the full picture first.” Because you’re describing exactly what happened and explaining your true feelings—not passing judgment—the listener is more likely to absorb what you’re saying. You may also use this third part of the SBI to describe the consequences; “As a result of you missing the meeting, the rest of the team must now inform you, which takes time from their day.” Or, “as a result of you missing the meeting, you don’t have the key information needed to write your report.
Try SBI today for much easier feedback conversations.
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