Effective feedback is critical to any highly successful team. Yet, it seems we struggle to do it in the Navy. How many times have you walked into a fitness report or evaluation debrief and heard some variation of “You’re doing great, just keep doing what you’re doing?” How many times have you, as the leaders not fully prepared for a feedback session? How many times have you shied away from giving negative feedback? Failure to prioritize and prepare often allows barriers such as bias, emotion, discomfort, and superior-subordinate dynamics to undermine fostering a feedback culture. By recognizing and overcoming these barriers, leaders can create a culture that embodies the good, timely, and effective feedback needed to prevail against the difficult security challenges ahead.
Feedback Fundamentals
Always have a plan going into a feedback session. The key is establishing fundamentals that allow you to move away from a one-sided speech to a more collaborative conversation. This empowers the individual you are counseling to become a part of the plan for success. There are many different techniques to develop solid feedback fundamentals. Here are ten things to consider:
1. Take the time. Not devoting sufficient time to prepare for and execute feedback sessions ultimately will have a negative impact on mission effectiveness and retention of the Navy’s most valuable resource—its people. Blocking out time specifically for feedback not only will show the individual with whom you are meeting that his or her time is valuable, but also will signal how important feedback is to the organization. A quiet place free from distractions and interruptions also can set the stage for effective feedback.
2. Prepare. Good feedback requires an honest assessment born from thorough preparation. It focuses on the big picture and shows how one person’s actions are affecting the entire team. At its best, feedback should strongly resemble coaching. One coaching option developed by John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett is the FUEL method:
• Frame the conversation. Describe the purpose of the meeting, any processes you will use, and the desired outcomes.
• Understand the current state. Ask open-ended questions about the event or time period to help you understand the individual’s point of view.
• Explore the desired state. Try to have the person describe his or her desired goal in as much detail as possible.
• Lay out a success plan. Focus on creating an action plan with a timetable for results.1
When you have to give feedback up or down the chain of command, the superior-subordinate dynamic can be intimidating. Everyone receives feedback differently. Understanding each subordinate and leader’s unique style and personality is essential. Over time, you will get to know your superiors and the best way to address issues with them.
3. Encourage self-reflection. Before the meeting, ask the individual to evaluate himself/herself and the team. One method is to ask the individual to write down three things he or she does well, three things that could be improved, what the team is doing well, and how the team can improve. As Wendy Hamilton Hoeschler, who taught the “Fundamentals of Feedback” class at Duke University, notes, “It is easier for someone to receive feedback if they are also empowered to give it.”2 Another method is to determine objective criteria and have the individual assess themselves against those standards. At Google, for instance, employees are asked to grade themselves on specific criteria: Googleyness; problem-solving; execution; thought leadership; leadership/emerging leadership skills; and presence.3
These six criteria can be translated for Navy use as:
• Navy core values (honor, courage, commitment)
• Problem-solving skills (knowledge, ability, and qualifications)
• Execution (technical job performance and mission accomplishment)
• Teamwork (collaboration, communication, and selflessness)
• Leadership (demonstrated success, skills, and future potential)
• Command presence (command involvement, impact, and Navy heritage)
4. Be specific. No one likes guessing what their boss is thinking. You should rehearse what you are going to say beforehand, be direct, and always give the feedback in a respectful manner. One study in Breathe, a professional medical journal, found generalized feedback is unhelpful and can be confusing. The person receiving feedback remains unclear about the purpose of the session and usually starts looking for hidden agendas that might have triggered the feedback. It disrupts professional relationships and causes unnecessary suspicion.4
This is your chance to give your honest assessment of how they each person can improve. Do not dwell on the past, but instead focus on improving behavior for the future.
5. Do not avoid negative or critical feedback. One of the biggest feedback myths is that people do not want to hear critical feedback. Several studies, however, show that most people prefer to receive constructive criticism more than positive comments.5 Sometimes confronting people is hard. But feedback is about making the team better by addressing shortcomings so everyone can improve together. Some leaders use the “feedback sandwich” (or positive/negative/positive), but this method has been shown to be ineffective and counterproductive, as it dilutes the important constructive criticism in the middle. Directly addressing negatives is most effective.
That said, choose your words carefully. Using “you” statements, such as “You did this” or “You should not have done that” can make the other person defensive. Instead, use statements from your perspective, such as “This is what I observed,” “This is what I’d like to see,” or “Here’s how I think about it.”6 Columbia University Professor Stacy Finkelstein and Chicago Booth Professor Ayelet Fishbach concluded that “people are generally interested in negative feedback. . . . which seems to serve an important function when it is constructive (rather than detrimental) and when people desire to acquire new habits or improve existing ones (rather than enhance their self-image).”7 Do not rob someone of the opportunity to improve.
6. Overcome bias. Everyone has various implicit biases—race, sex, orientation, creed, age, etc.—based on personal backgrounds and life experiences. The first step to overcome bias is awareness.8 If left unchecked, these biases can be a negative influence on the feedback you give and your leadership overall. Educate yourself about your own internal biases and approach feedback sessions as an opportunity to learn. Recognize the perils of bias can introduce in your ability to give, and others’ ability to receive, effective feedback.
7. Manage emotions. Even though most people want constructive negative feedback, not everyone will remain a stoic warrior when confronted with hard truths. Some might become sad, angry, or defensive. That is all okay. Everyone has a different perspective, and you never know what someone is dealing with outside work. Remain calm and avoid adding more emotion into the mix.
8. Do not forget the positives. Feedback is not just about improving deficiencies; it also is about emphasizing positive behaviors. Positive feedback is an important part of our development—it promotes increased engagement with work and teammates, helps maintain high standards, and even improves performance in areas in which we were already strong.9 A study in the American Behavioral Scientist Journal found that “high-performing teams share nearly six times more positive feedback than average teams.”10 So, if someone is performing well, now is the time to tell them.
9. Link feedback to impact. Every person wants to know they are making a difference and their job has meaning. Ensure feedback reflects the effect on the larger organization. The Center for Creative Leadership, an executive coaching organization, developed the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) tool to understand intent and deliver feedback. Following this approach, the person giving the feedback would:
• Situation: Describe the specific situation in which the behavior occurred.
• Behavior: Describe the actual observable behavior. Keep to the facts. Don’t insert opinions or judgments.
• Impact: Describe the results of the behavior.
• Intent: Ask about the person’s original intentions to highlight the gap between impact and intent.11
10. Follow-up. The only way to ensure your previous feedback is implemented is to follow-up with your people. Ensure you are getting the results the team needs and hold people accountable.
Be Humble, Learn to Listen
Remember, feedback is a two-way street. Just as we all must be able to give feedback freely, so too must we be able to receive it freely. It is important for leaders at all levels to get feedback. If people see their boss is interested in receiving feedback and also is able to admit his or her own mistakes, it will lower the barriers for everyone else. Here are three simple things you can embrace to establish your mind-set.
1. Be open to feedback. Stanford’s Carol Dweck postulates that there are two primary mind-sets: fixed and growth. People with fixed mind-sets believe intelligence is static, so they avoid challenges, give up easily, and ignore useful negative feedback. Conversely, “in the growth mind-set, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn’t define you. It’s a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from.” People with growth mind-sets embrace challenges, persist when facing setbacks, and learn from constructive criticism.12 Favor the growth mind-set, seek out that feedback, and be open to what you get back.
2. Be selfless. To be an effective teammate requires you to put the team’s goals above your own. Avoid the urge to be defensive. Instead, listen to what is said, and take your ego out of the equation.
3. Be tough. You must be able to handle criticism. If someone has the courage to give you honest feedback, take it in stride and turn that feedback into fuel to get better.
The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” To be an effective leader it is important to be humble enough to know you do not have all the answers.
Foster a Feedback Culture
Nothing will raise morale more than if every member of the team feels valued and as if they have a stake in the organization. Research has shown that virtually every employee wants more feedback, two out of three people believe their performance would improve with more feedback, and leaders who ask for feedback are more positively perceived.13 However, even the most committed team members will eventually give up if the culture of the unit is not open to feedback or “does not support their efforts.”14 Here are some ideas on how to encourage a feedback culture:
1. Give feedback at the beginning of your assignment. This is a little counterintuitive. Some may be uncomfortable providing feedback before something happens. Yet one issue that can lead to problems on teams down the road is a lack of clear guidance, expectations, or defined objectives.
By giving feedback at the beginning, you hopefully will avoid those pitfalls and maybe even reduce the need for more feedback later. Early feedback nevertheless must be followed up by carving out time at regular intervals or after significant events to give continual feedback. Sit down with new members of the team when they check-in to establish your expectations. To normalize the behavior, you want feedback to be something that happens regularly, not something that happens only when something has gone wrong.
2. Show (don’t tell) you care. If your people see that you genuinely care about their well-being, you will generate significant buy-in and build trust. To quote Teddy Roosevelt, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” To care you need to be out around your command and be present. Once you have that solid foundation, you will have much more latitude to give effective feedback.
3. Check out—last call for feedback! No matter your leadership position, ask departing personnel to provide feedback to you. For instance, you could give them a 3-by-5–inch notecard and ask that they write down three things the command is doing well, three things the command can improve, who at the command most positively influenced their development, whether they achieved their goals, and anything else you think is important.
These lessons and best practices can be tailored to your style as you lead your own organizations and teams toward embracing timely, honest, and team-focused feedback. Cultivating an effective feedback culture is critical to pace U.S. competitors and potential adversaries who are working to close the relative power gap with the United States.
1. “FUEL Coaching Method,” The Peak Performance Center.
2. Marsha Green, “Career Tools: Giving and Receiving Feedback,” Duke Today, 29 May 2012.
3. Francisco Homem de Mello, “Google’s Performance Management Practices,” Qulture Rocks, 28 January 2019.
4. Georgia Hardavella, Ane Aamli-Gaagnat, Neil Saad, Ilona Rousalova, and Katherine Sreter, “How to Give and Receive Reedback Effectively,” Breathe 13, no. 5 (December 2017): 327–33.
5. Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, “Your Employees Want the Negative Feedback You Hate to Give,” Harvard Business Review, 15 January 2014.
6. “Coaching and Feedback,” Chicago State University Human Resources.
7. Stacey Finkelstein and Ayelet Fishbach, “Tell Me What I Did Wrong: Experts Seek and Respond to Negative Feedback,” Journal of Consumer Research 39, no.1 (June 2012).
8. “Project Implicit,” Harvard University.
9. “The Importance of Positive Feedback and How to Deliver It to Others,” Indeed Career Guide, 18 April 2019.
10. Marcial Losada and Emily Heaphy, “The Role of Positivity and Connectivity in the Performance of Business Teams: A Nonlinear Dynamics Model,” American Behavioral Scientist 47, no. 6 (February 2004): 740–65.
11. “Use the SBI Feedback Model to Understand Intent,” Center for Creative Leadership.
12. Carol Dweck, “A Summary of Growth and Fixed Mindsets,” Philosophy (March 2015), fs.blog/2015/03/carol-dweck-mindset/.
13. Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman, “Feedback: The Powerful Paradox,” white paper (May 2019).
14. Ed Batista, “Building a Feedback-Rich Culture,” Harvard Business Review, 24 December 2013.
