Giving and accepting feedback

Joe's guide to giving constructive feedback.

What’s so important about feedback?

26% Piechart

26%

There’s room for improvement! Only 26% of employees strongly agree that the feedback helps them work better.

Gallup
14% Barchart

14%

Feedback can be a valuable tool for teams. Peer feedback can enhance performance by as much as 14%.

Gartner

Feedback is a tool

Feedback is a great tool to promote growth and improvement — but giving and receiving feedback are social skills that you can learn and practice.

Keep reading to learn about avoiding potential conflicts, giving constructive feedback, and accepting feedback from others.

Feedback is a tool

Feedback is not criticism

But what’s the difference?

Feedback is how people share what they think, need, or feel with the goal of helping others improve.

Criticism is an expression of disapproval with the goal of pointing out others’ mistakes or faults.

Feedback is not criticism

Try it out yourself

Ask someone to watch while you try to hit a target with a paper ball without looking. Try 3 different times and then ask for a different response each time.

  1. Ask them not to say anything at all
  2. Ask them to describe what happened
    • “You missed by about 6 inches.”
  3. Ask them to help you succeed
    • “Try aiming about 6 inches to the left.”

Then ask yourself:

  • Which way was the most fun?
  • Which way helped you improve?
Try it out yourself