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Tips on how to provide feedback to help others improve performance and foster a positive learning environment.
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3.03 providing-constructive-feedback - Exercise.docx61.3 KB
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Providing Constructive Feedback
This lesson examines the importance of providing constructive feedback within a mentoring relationship and key approaches to delivering this feedback effectively.
Notes
What Is Constructive Feedback?
Constructive feedback is a tool that aids growth, improves performance, and fosters a positive learning environment. It is concrete, clear, helpful, and focuses on specific issues or behaviors rather than on the person. Constructive feedback is not criticism, but goal-oriented guidance.
Delivering Constructive Feedback
Be Specific:
- Specific feedback provides clear direction and helps a mentee understand how to improve. Instead of saying, "You need to improve your report writing," a more specific feedback might be, "Including more data analysis in your reports could make them more impactful."
Balance Positive and Negative Feedback:
- Sharing what the mentee is doing well along with what needs improvement provides a holistic view of their performance. Using the sandwich method - starting with something positive, discussing areas for improvement, and ending with additional positive remarks - can aid in making feedback more digestible.
Timeliness:
- Feedback should be delivered timely, preferably soon after the situation occurs. This ensures it's fresh in everyone's mind and can be impactful.
Respectfulness:
- When providing feedback, it's essential to acknowledge the time and effort the mentee has put into their work. Remember: as a mentor, you are leading by example. The way you communicate and collaborate plays a significant role in the mentee's learning process.
- 00:04 Welcome back.
- 00:05 In this lesson, we'll move into another crucial aspect of mentoring,
- 00:10 providing constructive feedback.
- 00:13 Constructive feedback is an essential tool in any mentoring relationship.
- 00:17 It paves the way for growth, improves performance, and
- 00:21 fosters a positive learning environment.
- 00:24 So what is constructive feedback?
- 00:27 Put simply, it's feedback that is concrete, clear, and helpful.
- 00:33 It focuses on specific issues or behaviors, not the person and
- 00:38 it's goal oriented.
- 00:40 It's not simply criticism.
- 00:42 Let's talk about how you can deliver constructive feedback.
- 00:45 First, be specific rather than saying, hey,
- 00:48 you need to improve your report writing.
- 00:51 You might say, including more data analysis in your reports
- 00:56 could make them more impactful.
- 00:59 Feedback that is too vague, it doesn't provide direction and
- 01:02 it's easily forgotten.
- 01:04 But specific feedback gives your mentee a place to start.
- 01:08 Improving their work.
- 01:10 Next, balance the positive with the negative, sharing what they're doing well,
- 01:15 along with what needs improvement,
- 01:17 provides a more holistic view of their performance.
- 01:21 Plus, positive feedback usually helps people feel more receptive to
- 01:26 anything negative.
- 01:28 A popular method of delivering constructive feedback is the sandwich
- 01:32 method.
- 01:33 This involves starting off with something positive, then discussing areas for
- 01:39 improvement, and ending with additional positive remarks.
- 01:44 For example, I loved how thoroughly you researched this project.
- 01:49 I think presenting this data more visually might be more effective, but
- 01:53 your detailed approach to projects is a great asset to our team.
- 01:57 Try the sandwich method next time you have some feedback to share, and
- 02:01 the other person may be a lot more receptive to it.
- 02:05 Additionally, make sure your feedback is timely.
- 02:09 Providing feedback soon after a situation occurs ensures it's fresh in
- 02:14 everyone's mind and that it has a chance to be impactful.
- 02:19 And when you share your feedback, always be respectful of the time and
- 02:23 effort the other person has put into their work, as a mentor, you lead by example.
- 02:29 So the way in which you support your mentee through feedback will help
- 02:33 them learn not just how to improve a specific aspect of their work.
- 02:37 But you'll demonstrate exactly what effective supportive
- 02:42 communication and collaboration feels like.
- 02:46 These are priceless lessons for mentees to learn as they progress in their career.
- 02:52 In our next lesson, we're going to get into some of the challenges that we
- 02:57 face as mentors, and talk about how to encourage independence and
- 03:02 personal growth in your mentee, see you then.
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