Hungry for Feedback

  Communications Management   Talent Management   PM Network  

Communication allows us to exchange ideas, solve problems and reach our intended goals.

Yet one kind of interaction makes us all sweat, even though it’s a necessity in project management: providing feedback to team members.

“Feedback” is information delivered in response to a person’s behavior or performance. Negative feedback is usually aimed at correcting an undesired behavior or poor performance, while positive feedback is primarily used as a motivation technique.

If providing feedback makes you cringe, fear not: There’s a new communication tool on the project manager’s menu that could replace a somewhat “stale” method.

Expired Food for Thought

Popular in management training in the 1990s, a model called the “feedback sandwich” suggested that any criticism should include three components.

• Base bread: an opening remark telling the receiver what was done correctly
• Filling: a comment on the behavior or actions that need improvement
• Top bread: a restatement of the team member’s good work and your confidence in the person’s future performance

This model is now regarded as nothing more than a pill sweetener, according to a recent University of Chicago study. For experienced professionals, receiving a clear description of failings and ways to improve is more …

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