Feedback helps staff members grow. It keeps them on track. It catches missteps early. And it’s a source of satisfaction for those on the receiving end of it. Feedback practiced regularly is one of the best tools a boss can employ daily, periodically and as part of performance reviews and career discussions.
Below, I’ve listed some questions that managers can ask themselves to improve the quality and frequency of the feedback they give — both on a day-to-day basis and in the long term.
Day-to-day feedback
- How do you seek information, clarify problems, explore alternatives and help staff members focus? Ask open-ended, non-judgmental questions when seeking clarification and understanding. When asking a staff member for alternatives or to focus, be willing to contribute your ideas to the conversation.
- How well do you listen to understand what staff members are thinking and feeling, what ideas they have and what they’re asking of you? Encourage staffers when you talk with them, and summarize what they’ve said to show that you’re listening and to make sure that you grasp their ideas.
- How well do you know staff members as individuals — what motivates them, what skills they possess, their work habits, idiosyncrasies, improvement goals? The key here is figuring out how important you think it is to get to know your staff members. Knowing why and how staff members work can lead to significant conversations about what they want to do and how they can improve.
- How often do you ask, “How can I help you?” and “How are you?” These questions give staffers an opening to tell you as much as they want about whether they need help and how they’re doing.
- How do you offer ideas/suggestions for change or improvement? How do you critique work that’s underway? You may want to offer an idea or critique and then follow up by asking staff members what they think about it. It can also help to ask them for ideas on how their work can be improved.
- How, and how often, do you praise staffers? The key to doing this is to be specific. Point out what worked and why you think it worked.
- How do you emphasize newsroom goals, expectations and standards during daily feedback? Have the newsroom goals and standards in mind when you are giving daily feedback. If a staff member is trying to improve in a specific way, tie that improvement goal to one of the newsroom’s goals. For example, if the staff member is trying to improve his or her factual accuracy, talk about this goal in the context of the newsroom’s goal of improving accuracy.
Periodic feedback/long-form coaching
- How often do you meet with each staff member to give periodic feedback on his/her work? Weekly, bi-monthly, monthly? How formal or informal is the conversation? Often, the purpose of meeting with people is to review past work, plan future work and maintain or improve your working relationship with them. Decide how often you need to have these meetings based on the work the staffer does and the reasons you need to meet with him or her.
- How do you review a staff member’s past work during a long-form coaching session? When reviewing a staff member’s recent work, be specific about what worked and what needs work. And, always ask the staff member what he or she thinks about what worked and what needs work.
- How do you help a staff member plan upcoming work? Planning upcoming work involves brainstorming ideas with the staff member. Help the staffer to focus on one idea and make plans for carrying it out.
- How do you coach a staff member on a specific performance issue or a long-term improvement goal? The first step is reaching an agreement with the staff member on what needs to improve. Defining the performance problem or the improvement goal may take time and effort. The next step is exploring best practices or examples of what improved work will look like.
- How do you build a good working relationship and get to know a staffer’s goals and aspirations? This requires thoughtful conversations about what motivates the staff member and what kind of work he or she wants to do now and in the future. Focus on the staff member’s ideas and motivations.
- How do you reinforce newsroom goals, expectations and standards during periodic feedback sessions? Again, as in day-to-day feedback, keep newsroom goals in mind when giving long-form feedback. Let staffers know that what they’re working on is helping the newsroom meet its goals.
- How to you seek feedback from staff members? Ask them for feedback. “How could our work relationship be improved?” “How are things going for you in the newsroom? “How could things be improved?”
These are just some questions to help you think about how you can effectively use feedback to motivate staff members and recognize them when they’ve done well. Feel free to add your own questions and thoughts in the comments section of this story.
