Mike Crittenden highlights that in a book titled "The Effective Manager" it is stated you only need 5 to 15 seconds to deliver effective feedback.
Here are the 4 steps:
- Ask (“Can I give you some feedback?”)
- State the behavior (“When you X…”)
- State the impact (“…the result is Y.”)
- Encourage effective future behavior (“Keep it up!” for positive feedback or “Can you change that?” for negative feedback)
Example, straight from the book:
Manager: Can I give you some feedback?
Direct: Sure, boss.
Manager: When you tell my boss bad news before me, even with the best of intentions, I end up getting in a lot of trouble for not knowing before he did. Can you try to tell me first, going forward?
Test if your feedback is justly motivated:
- Are you angry? If so, don’t give the feedback.
- Are you focused on the past instead of the future (i.e., reminding them about something they did wrong or punishing them)? If so, don’t give the feedback.
- Are you able to let it go? If not, don’t give the feedback. In other words, if you can’t let it go in terms of how you feel, you should let it go by not giving negative feedback. If you feel an urge to deliver feedback, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons.
If you’re not angry, if it’s not about the past or about punishment, and if you can let it go, then go ahead and give the feedback.
– Mark Horstman, "The Effective Manager", after [1]
Source: "5-second feedback" by Mike Crittenden [1:1]