The problems relate to the fact that feedback is the stick that has 2 ends:
- you can give the feedback
- you can be the one who receives it
In the nutshell, all the problems are initially divided into these 2 huge groups depending on the side of the view.
Case study #1 - you are giving the feedback
The skill of building the communication is one of the most complicated. I can tell by my experience of managing some projects that they were killed by the lack of capacity of people to talk and their emotional immaturity.
Giving feedback professionally, fully covering all the areas and showing the growth path is the SKILL that needs to be learnt and practiced.
Jean-François Manzoni, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development at IMD International and co-author of The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail points out, “Everyone has some room for improvement, in this job or the next, within our current set of capabilities or a broader set that will likely come in handy in the future.”
Feedback is such an important thing in business and learning that if you face difficulties with it, never doubt to ask your more experienced colleague for an advice on how to do it correctly.
If you are a student or an employee, it’s very probable that you are asked to give peer feedback (feedback to your colleagues) during your classes/in your company. Ideally, the managers and teachers will teach you how to do it. If not - self-study is the way.
There are hundreds of books and articles on giving feedback. I chose several for you to start or in-deepen your knowledge.
For teachers:
- Visible learning feedback by John Hattie
- Feedback matters: Current feedback practices in EFL Classroom by Margit Reitbauer
- ELT lesson observation & Feedback Handbook
For students:
- Peer feedback in the classroom by Starr Sackstein
For employees:
- HBR: Giving effective feedback
- HBR: Delivering effective feedback
- No more feedback by Carol Sanford