When Then Feedback: Be Objective to be Effective

An effective project manager needs to constantly provide feedback to the project team on the good, the bad and the ugly to successfully manage a project. Effective feedback gives the effects of past behaviour to affect future behaviour.

Feedback also affirms good behaviour. Positive feedback shows appreciation for the contributions and recognizes the efforts of team members. When someone feels their work is unrecognized, they stop trying. When they get affirming feedback, they will continue to deliver their best. The best way a project manager can avoid having to deliver feedback on the bad and the ugly is to remember to appreciate the good.

When Then Feedback. When you do this, then this happens.

The first step is to describe the specific behaviour that led to the feedback.

When you raise your voice…
When you thank a colleague for helping you…
When you don’t respond to emails…
When you are five minutes early for meetings…
When you are late delivering…

The second step is to describe the effect of the behaviour.

…people think you are angry and not in control.
…it shows you are team player and recognize the efforts of others.
…it makes people feel you are ignoring their problems.
…it shows you respect everyone’s time.
…it makes people think you do not know how to manage your time.

Behaviours are observable. Behaviours are what we say, how we say them, our facial expressions, our body language and the results of our work. Attitudes, state of mind, motives are explanations we give for behaviours and we make many mistakes interpreting peoples behaviours.

Telling someone they have bad attitude, that they are acting angrily or that they are selfish are interpretations of intentions. Attributing intent makes the feedback subjective, probably inaccurate, more likely to be disputed, less likely to be heard and ineffective.

For feedback to be effective it needs to be accepted and for feedback to be accepted it has to be objective. Starting with actions you see or hear and describing the consequences of that behaviour makes the feedback objective.