Evaero

Aerospace machining, CNC machining, titanium castings

  • Capabilities
  • About Us
  • Visiting Evaero
  • Work For Evaero
  • Contact Us

How to Give Productive Feedback

March 7, 2019 Christian Frueh Topics: Leadership

productive feedback

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. ~ Shakespeare

Radical candor doesn’t help employees thrive and telling employees how to improve hinders learning. This is what authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall report in their recently published article, “The Feedback Fallacy.” (Harvard Business Review)

That’s because:

  1. People cannot reliably rate the performance of others.
  2. Criticism provokes the brain’s “flight or fight” response.
  3. Excellence is idiosyncratic.

Indeed, as noted by the authors:

If we continue to spend our time identifying failure as we see it and giving people feedback about how to avoid it, we’ll languish in the business of adequacy.

To avoid this trap and get into the “excellence business” the authors recommend highlighting patterns of excellence that exist in all of our staff so they can “recognize it, anchor it, re-create it, and refine it.”

Here, for example, courtesy of the article, are some helpful ways to change your language when interacting with staff:

Instead of: Can I give you some feedback?
Try: Here’s my reaction.

Instead of: Good job!
Try: Here are three things that really worked for me. What was going through your mind when you did them?

Instead of: Here’s what you should do.
Try: Here is what I would do.

The same type of thinking works in reverse. If for example a supervisor lets you know you did a good job, take the time to find out what exactly worked well for her.

Now, some might read this article as being against providing feedback. I didn’t take it that way. Instead the message I got was that feedback rarely does what it’s meant to. From the article:

We excel only when people who know us and care about us tell us what they experience and what they feel, and in particular when they see something within us that really works.

Certainly something to consider during your next 121 or review.

On that note, time for me to check out and leave you with some music for our Manufacturing Peace of Mind™ Spotify playlist. Here then is the ever awesome Ray LaMontagne with his song “Such a Simple Thing.”

Tell me what your heart wants
Such a simple thing
My heart is like paper
Yours is like a flame

Such a good song.

Cheers…xian

Video not displaying properly? Click here.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrintFriendly
Share this article:
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on google
Google
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on email
Email
Share on buffer
Buffer

About Christian Frueh

With a Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering and a minor in Anthropology, Christian is a thoughtful leader who looks at things from a scientific perspective: Solve problems, don’t make assumptions.

Read more about Christian

Latest from the blog

The Role of Weight in Casting to Hog-out Conversions

September 17, 2015

ISO quality management system

Failing More Often: Gaining from Randomness and Volatility

February 5, 2015

Improving Precision CNC Aerospace Machining

January 22, 2015

About Evaero

Evaero is a modern manufacturing firm delivering custom machined components to the aerospace and defense industry.

Learn more

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrintFriendly

Connect With Evaero

  • Email
  • RSS

Phone:
775-5EV-AERO
(775.538.2376)

Address: 

3807 E. Kleindale Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85716

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrintFriendly
© 2023 Manufacturing Peace of Mind, LLC. All rights reserved.
 Twitter
 Facebook