Make feedback a priority:

• Frame feedback - positive or corrective - as an ongoing process, not an occasional and arbitrary comment.

• If people you oversee treat giving feedback as a mere requirement to complete at the time of performance reviews, they will not meet one of your basic expectations.

• “Every day, people you work with and those who work for you should know how they’re doing.**

• To show that feedback is a large part of your organization’s or team’s culture, you need to set an example and give feedback regularly and visibly.

• Do so not in individual disucussions, but in day-to-day actions as well.

• Be as open to receiving feedback from your colleagues, including your direct reports, as you are to sharing your observations of their work.

• Do not wait for feedback to be offered, particularly if you’re in a leadership role.

Give positive feedback publicly:

• Acknowledging positive performance frequently and publicly is a good way to start building a culture of frequent feedback. State explicitly that everyone should follow suit.

• When giving positivie feedback, follow these guidelines:

  • Start small. Don’t assume that only big wins merit discussion. When you see _any** behavior you want to encourage, acknowledge it and express appreciation. Make clear to direct reports and colleagues that it matters even when the little things are done well.

  • Praise effort, not ability. Praising persistent efforts, even failed attempts, helps build resilience and determination, whereas praising talent and ability results in risk aversion and heightened sensitivity to setbacks. A climate that values effort can increase ability.

  • Offer some positive feedback - and stop there. Using positive feedback only to cushion the blow before delivering criticism will degrade the value of your praise and render it hollow.

Empower everyone:

• Everyone - not only managers - should be part of your culture of feedback.

• Address challenges as a group. Establish a mutual commitment among individuals and groups to work on areas that need improvement.

• Teach people not to fear identifying where the group is falling short - don’t punish them, chastise them, or ignore their points of view - encourage them to help one another.

• Feedback should be oriented to finding solutions collectively, not discussing what’s wrong.

• Set clear expectations. Make all work expectations - team and individual goals as well as ongoing assignments - clear and explicit.

• Encourage questions. State openly that employees should never be afraid to ask for clarification if either their work expectations or the feedback they’ve received are unclear.

• Make it okay to say no. One risk in feedback-rich cultures is that people feel obligated to say “Of course,” when asked “Can I give you some feedback?” Timing your feedback is an important part of the process. The freedom to postpone such conversations ensures that when they happen, all participants are willing parties.

• A culture where feedback is valued is, by definition, a vigilant one. But it is the clear-eyed vigilance of a keen and progress-oriented observer, not that of a micromanaging monitor.