Daniel's Blog
Quick start on how to give feedback
3 min read | Last Updated: November 30, 2021
Oh hai! So you want to give some feedback? Or someone has asked you to give feedback to a colleague? Awesome, then do not fear and read on!
Feedback can be a very powerful tool that helps us grow and level up. We also need to be careful when using it. Find some tips here :D
Be specific
Morgan, I think you should be more assertive is not very helpful, as Morgan doesn’t know what it means and can even be unhelpful, causing Morgan to have confidence issues.
Use something like…
Morgan, on [this] PR I’ve noticed that you didn’t want to commit to a solution and that caused me to be unsure on what to implement. Morgan, I noticed you were not very participative in the story mapping session yesterday, is there anything I could help you with? Do you understand the goals?
Be specific for positive feedback
Alex, you are doing a great job always feels good but then you never know what people mean and can feel a bit shallow.
Instead…
Alex, great job at getting the release over the line Alex, great job at mentoring Morgan on this task
Being specific provides context and grounds the message.
Be curious
AKA do not make assumptions
Looking at the example of the story mapping from Morgan, it could be that Morgan didn’t understand the goals and thus that’s why they didn’t participate. Or they were having a bad day or something, we don’t know.
You need to participate more in story mappings sessions becomes I noticed you didn’t participate much today… gives them the opportunity to explain without feeling attacked or getting defensive.
This brings up the last point…
Be constructive
Your code is bad, You need to be a team player and You need to step up are all examples of You are bad and very unconstructive in general. Feedback should come from a place of good and with the intention and goal of helping them. Even, or especially, if someone is underperforming the feedback should be crystal clear and very specific, so they can improve.
Being constructive means being timely as well. Don’t give feedback five months later or don’t give feedback if the person is not in a good place, that’s unconstructive too.
Good luck!
Written by Daniel Lopez Rovira who likes talking about engineering stuff.