Think twice when you say “good job”

How many times have you heard or said, “good job,” “nice work,” “keep it up,” or “better luck next time?”

Imagine someone asks you to do an airplane pose in a room without windows or mirrors where you cannot see your reflection (you can try it right now, wherever you are). How would you feel if I told you “great job?” What if I told you “you need to work on that?” What would that mean? Is your leg high enough? Should you point your toes? Do you need to tilt your head? Should you bend or back? Maybe stand straight? How would you improve from my comments? Chances are, you wouldn’t. My feedback was vague, unclear, and while it may have felt good to hear that “you did a good job,” it didn’t help you move forward.

According to London & Mone (2015) effective feedback has 4 key characteristics.

1. It is qualitative in that it is both motivational and specific, providing explanations and relying on explicit examples and goals (e.g. try saying “your leg is clearly straight,” “try to point your toes,” and “face the wall”).
2. It incites reflection by encouraging receivers to accept the information, interpret it, and rely on it for further improvement (e.g. allow your receivers to think about ways to point their toes and tilt their heads to face the wall, while maintain their leg straight) (Aguinis, 2009).
3. It is informal and ongoing such that receivers are constantly aware of their performance, have enough time to reflect on it and improve, and feel comfortable with the process (e.g. once the receiver has finished the airplane pose, let them know how they did and give them time to retry it before you observe it again) (Cascio & Aguinis, 2014).
4. It considers the law of diminishing returns, as it does not overwhelm receivers with an amount of information that they cannot process or that may desensitize them to the practice. Rather, it provides strategic cues and ideas to help them improve (e.g. focus on one or two aspects and encourage changes).

Following these components increases feedback acceptance, as receivers understand where observations are coming from in a timely manner and boosts motivation by urging the desire to learn and increasing receivers’ interest in work and the organization that cares about their performance (London & Mone, 2015). It also boosts readiness to change by developing receivers’ learning agility, openness to change, and resilience in challenges and it improves receptivity by concentrating on self-awareness, awareness of expectations, confronting change, and the desire to learn and develop (London & Mone, 2015).

Keep in mind that the most effective feedback focuses on strengths rather that weaknesses (London & Mone, 2015). While it may seem counterintuitive, receivers increase learning and improve performance the most when they are provided with positive information on correct behaviors and when they are shown changes in outcomes from previous performances (London & Mone, 2015). Negative information tends to threaten receivers’ self-image and thus, deter them from seeking further feedback while also enabling them to assume they are not capable of changing such behaviors (London & Mone, 2015). Next time you provide feedback, focus on your receivers’ strengths and changeable behaviors to promote a positive self-image and efficacy, as well as hone their performance!

References:

Aguinis, H., (2009). An expanded view of performance management. In J. W. Smither, & M. London (Eds.), Performance management: Putting research into action. (pp. 1-43). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cascio, W. F., & Aguinis, H. (2014). Applied psychology in human resource management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. [Chapter 5: Performance management]

London, M., & Mone, E. M. (2015). Designing feedback to achieve performance improvement. In K. Kraiger, J. Passmore, N. R. dos Santos, S. Malvezzi, (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of training, development, and performance improvement (pp. 462-485). Wiley- Blackwell.

By: Teresa Aires