Make a tough task easier.

• Author: Ovson, Alan
• Position: TheArtofFeedback

One of the main ways people get better at what they do is by receiving honest, specific and timely feedback. However, people often cite a lack of feedback as a reason for leaving a position. They feel alone, dissatisfied and underappreciated.

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Giving constructive feedback helps people do what you want them to do and makes them feel like they are part of your organization. Moreover, it gives employees a one-to-one relationship with a manager, which is a motivating factor for many employees.

So why, in a survey by Dr. Gerald Graham of 1,500 employees who were asked about when, how and if they received feedback, the results were shockingly sad:

* 58 percent seldom, if ever, received personal thanks.

* 76 percent seldom, if ever, received written thanks.

* 81 percent seldom, if ever, received public praise.

According to most managers surveyed, poor (or no) feedback happens because education and training on feedback or mentoring is either lacking or non-existent in most companies.

But think about these questions: Did you ever give feedback that made a bad situation worse? Have you ever avoided giving feedback because it was too time consuming and difficult? Do you give feedback sparingly because you are afraid the other party might take it the wrong way and create a time-consuming conflict? Have you bypassed giving someone feedback and wound up doing the job yourself?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, think about the time, energy and opportunity you missed by not giving your employees good feedback.

Most people are not very comfortable with giving feedback, whether it's positive or negative. Because giving feedback involves telling another person how their behaviors or actions are perceived, it's fraught with emotional traps. Can you remember how anxious your were when you received feedback from your boss? Giving feedback poorly can result in escalating a conflict, reducing motivation or even demoralizing an employee. Feedback is a source of anxiety for many people and, for that reason alone, many managers avoid doing it at all. Instead these managers suffer with poor and unmitigated performance.

Yet, if you want to get the most out of your employees and develop a healthy working relationship, you have to give good feedback more often than just at performance appraisal time.

Six Steps to Giving Great Feedback

Knowing how and when to give constructive feedback enables a manager to reduce resistance, gain...