What Does It Take to Give Good Feedback?
Lessons learned from an attempt to apply Lean principles to leadership practice
Providing feedback, basically, requires sharing information with another individual about their achievements or behavior. It can be used as a basis for further improvement. However, most often, it is not as simple as it may sound. That’s the reason why in a Lean transformation, a lot of attention is given to teaching people how to give and receive constructive feedback.
The term “Lean” was coined in 1988 by John Krafick to refer to “The Toyota Way”, which practices originate in two main principles: Respect for People and Continuous Improvement. This article is an attempt to share a bit of my experience and learning as I have been trying to implement some Lean leadership principles in my management practice. Here are some key insights.
First, good feedback requires a short interval between activity and the moment it is shared. The impact of feedback provided at the moment the work is done is much stronger than the impact of feedback received on work completed weeks ago. In the Lean leadership approach, performance is usually discussed one-on-one between manager and employee during what is called Performance Dialogue. It does not seem to be any different from the common practice, since almost all companies have one-on-one manager-employee meetings as part of their annual performance assessment. Nonetheless, in Lean Leadership’s practice, performance dialogues are much less structured and usually only the current daily tasks are discussed.
This does not mean that annual performance assessments should be forgotten. However, as best learning occurs when the time between activity and feedback is swift, rapid feedback should be encouraged. I personally like to consider annual performance assessment as a formal review and documenting of the feedback that have already been provided along the year, emphasizing its outcomes. An indicator of fast feedback being provided is the absence of “surprise feedback” in the annual assessment, in other words, the absence of comments that are unknown by the person that is receiving the feedback.
Second, managers need to “Go See” (Gemba walk). Within a Lean context, the place where the value is created is referred to as Gemba. Respect starts by going to see for yourself what is actually happening on the shop floor. This way, feedback can be provided as based on a realistic perspective. The most effective discussions about work are those that happen in sight of real situations, with the people who do the work, rather than in the manager’s office. This is the purpose of the Gemba walk.
When working with remote teams, the general aspects of a Gemba walk need to adjust. It can be challenging and even take longer, but it is not impossible. In my experience, digitally visualizing the process, asking questions, and seeing the actual product, are some strategies that have proven themselves very helpful for facilitating the understanding of the process or problem. However, it is important to keep in mind that the Gemba walk is not the same as micro-managing. It is about solving problems and removing impediments to deliver value based on reality.
Third, good feedback requires transparency and agreements with regards to objectives and the performance against them. Feedback work does not start at the moment it is shared with the employee. It should start much before that, when new and ongoing objectives are discussed and agreed upon with regard to them and the manager. It is not possible to provide good feedback when expectations are unsettled. When discussing performance, unclear expectations tend to lead to disagreement between manager and employee.
One way of showing respect for people, is to provide them a work environment in which they can agree with and commit themselves to the organizational goals, and in which they are not afraid to be open about the challenges in performing. Studies have concluded that employees’ trust increases as leaders improve their ability to provide honest feedback. However, it is easier to provide honest and objective feedback on goals to which the employee is personally committed.
Fourth, good feedback requires communicating in a constructive manner and sharing suggestions for improvement. A good example of honest and constructive feedback is what Management 3.0 publications call Feedback Wrap. In my experience, applying this technique has been helpful for improving communication. It consists of five steps: describing context, listing observations, expressing emotions, explaining your needs, and ending with suggestions. However, no matter what technique is followed, good results cannot be achieved if the leader cannot show respect while they express their thoughts on the employee’s performance.
In Lean organizations, managers play the role of a coach to help the employee to achieve the objectives. They are supposed to discuss the reason why the employee needs to achieve their goals, and reflect upon how they can support the employees for achieving them.
Finally, good feedback requires a blameless environment. Good feedback has the purpose of contributing towards continuous improvement and further development of the employee, rather than to find somebody to blame. Discussions on performance should happen in a climate of trust and respect, and apportioning blame is not a very respectful thing to do. Furthermore, it is counterproductive to continuous improvement, as people will likely not feel confident enough to make bold decisions or to innovate in an environment in which failure is punished and there is only space for success.
