Money & Career

Giving Useful Feedback at Work

Say the hard thing clearly, kindly, and early enough that the other person can actually act on it.

This course is for members

$9 unlocks every course in the library, this one included, plus a credit to build a topic of your own and at least 10 new courses every month.

Join for $9Sign in

What you will learn about Giving Useful Feedback at Work

The 7-day sprint
  1. Feedback Is Information, Not Judgment. Useful feedback describes what happened and what it caused, so the other person can decide what to do differently.
  2. Observation, Impact, Question. A reliable feedback structure is one specific observation, its concrete impact, then a genuine question.
  3. Timing And Setting Carry Half The Message. When and where you give feedback changes what the other person hears, often more than the words do.
  4. Ask Before You Prescribe. Diagnose the cause with the other person before you propose a solution, because the wrong cause produces a useless fix.
  5. Praise Precisely, Not Generously. Positive feedback only changes behavior when it names the specific action and why it worked.
  6. Receiving Feedback Well Makes Yours Credible. How you take feedback sets the ceiling for how honestly people will speak to you.
  7. Close The Loop So Feedback Compounds. Feedback becomes change only when you agree on a next step and revisit it.
The 80/20: the 7 concepts that matter most
  • Specific Observation Instead Of Character Labels
  • Name The Impact
  • Ask Before Prescribing
  • Timing And Privacy
  • Precise Praise, Unbundled
  • Close The Loop
  • Receiving Well
The core idea, explained like you are 5

Feedback is sharing information about the effect of someone's actions, so that they can choose to act differently.

Then the quiz and the ladder

10 questions that correct you when you are wrong, and beginner, intermediate, advanced levels, each with a practical exercise.