“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
Brené Brown
Observation. Judgment. Feedback.
Three separate words with three separate meanings. Yet the more I contemplate these words, the more I realize how inter-related they really are and, more importantly, how confusing they can be in a workplace context.
As I’ve progressed through my career and taken on different management roles, I’ve been given some interesting advice about observation, judgment, and feedback which I’ve been reflecting on. I wonder if you have received similar advice and whether you feel it has served you well – or if perhaps it’s time to reject it?
Making Feedback Meaningful
To begin with, I was advised that, to give people meaningful feedback, I should try to observe them firsthand, rather than relying on what other people may tell me about their performance.
By observing what they do and how they do it for myself, I’d be able to “own” any feedback that I give. As well as this, I learned I should adopt the mindset of trying to “catch people doing the right thing,” rather than trying to catch them out. So far, so good.
Reserving Judgment
Another piece of advice I’m always given is to ensure that feedback is “non-judgmental.” In other words, to observe behavior and performance without labelling it as “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong.”
Instead, to feed back what I observed and, then – through open discussion – allow the person being observed to make their own sense of these observations and come to their own conclusions about what, if anything, they’d like to change.
I’ve found this approach to be highly effective in achieving behavioral change. So long as the way the feedback is given allows a safe space for reflection and personal development.
Please Join Us!
What: #MTtalk
Where: Twitter
When: May 20 @1pm ET (5pm GMT / 10:30pm IST)
Topic: Observation, Judgment and Feedback
Host: @Mind_Tools
The Feedback Sandwich
The advice I hear most often is to use the “feedback sandwich” in performance-related conversations. Essentially, this is when you sandwich any negative observations between two pieces of positive ones.
The reasons given for this approach vary. Most notably that it’s best to start the discussion on a positive note to help put the person at ease, before raising the trickier issue of any poor performance. Then ending on a “feel-good” note so the person doesn’t go away feeling upset or demotivated. This advice I take great exception to, but I’ll come back to that later.
Great Feedback Can be Transformational
I don’t think many would argue with the fact that, as a manager or team member, you need to give and receive feedback that’s timely, of good quality, and engaging. But giving the right amount, in the right way, at the right time can be challenging. Yet, done well, it can be absolutely transformational.
Think of a time when you received feedback that created real impact for you. What was it that made it stand out? Did it open your eyes to something you’d not noticed or were unaware of, thereby allowing you to develop your skills in a targeted way? Or was it delivered ineffectively, insensitively, or with bad intentions? In either case, I’m certain you’ll remember how it made you feel.
To my mind, good feedback needs to:
- Be timely.
- Be specific.
- Encourage self-awareness.
- Build insight.
- Be descriptive, rather than evaluative.
- Be constructive.
- Focus on areas of improvement.
- Be practical.
- Be necessary.
- Be helpful.
- Be kind.
How Does Feedback Relate to Observation and Judgment?
And this brings me to my contemplation about feedback, and how it relates to observation and judgment.
Observation can be described as watching in order to carry out a detailed examination of something, before analysis, diagnosis, or interpretation. Other words often associated with observation include reviewing, noticing, monitoring, considering, inspection, and scrutiny.
Judgment can be described as an opinion or estimate formed by examining and comparing, or the ability to make considered decisions and come to sensible conclusions. Words associated with judgment also include perception, reason, and shrewdness.
Feedback, in the context of the workplace, is usually described as a tool that can help people evaluate themselves and their work by hearing how others perceive them. In other words, it’s “part and parcel” of managing people and teams, and usually forms part of a performance management approach.
Getting the Balance Right Can Be Tricky
But getting the balance of feedback, observation and judgment right is tricky…
- I should observe non-judgmentally, yet elements of observing require me to review, monitor and scrutinize, all of which require some element of judgment.
- How do I know what I should feed back based on my observations without applying some element of perception and reason (i.e. judgment)?
- How can I give feedback on how someone is doing in their job or how well their behaviors align to company values, without making some judgment about their performance and how it matches up to what’s required?
Well, here’s what I’ve concluded…
People respond well to kind, helpful and well-intentioned feedback, be it developmental and designed to help them build their competence, or motivational and designed to build their confidence. It can be a powerful tool to focus activity and effort, and enhance performance. It’s also an opportunity to provide support and empower people. And to make sure that they feel equipped and happy to carry out their jobs effectively.
Observation is impactful, but I am not convinced feedback can or should always be without judgment. We’re all human and we arguably make judgments all the time, whether we’re conscious of it or not. The way I approach things is to be as objective as possible and consciously reserve judgment where it’s not appropriate. Instead, I try to keep the focus on the individual and what will be most helpful to them.
Oh, and about that “feedback sandwich.” That’s never the way to do it. Be honest, respectful, engaging, focused, and sensitive – no sandwiches required!
Observation, Judgment and Feedback
In our upcoming #MTtalk twitter chat, we’ll be exploring the roles of observation, judgment and feedback.
If you want to get involved, come and join this safe discussion space!
In our Twitter poll this week, we wanted to know how you feel about the feedback you receive at work. A third (33 percent) of participants said “I appreciate all feedback.” However, 19 percent felt that feedback at work is insincere. To see the rest of our poll results, click here.
We’d love you to participate in the chat! So to prepare, we’ve put together the following questions to spark some thoughts and ideas:
- We observe people all the time. Can we be unbiased when doing so? How?
- What’s the difference between observation and judgment?
- Why and how do you transition from observing to providing feedback?
- Have you received badly delivered or judgmental feedback? What was the impact?
- When might giving feedback be a bad idea?
- What would you advise someone worried about observation, judgment and feedback?
Useful Resources
To help you prepare for the chat, we’ve compiled a list of relevant resources for you to browse. (Note that you will need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.)
How to Deliver On-the-Spot Feedback
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