10 Ways to Give Feedback with a Kiss and Kick
Motivating feedback is giving input to positively influence team members while empowering and assisting them in improving. In this blog, learn 10 ways to give feedback with a kiss and kick, plus discover the POWRR Acronym. The goal is to create an interpersonal climate where team members feel motivated and encouraged to perform their best work. First, focus on the positive things people are doing. Next, guide how people on your team can even do better. This fosters a learning culture of growth, development, and continuous improvement that drives innovation and high-performing teams.
10 Ways to Give Feedback with Kiss and Kick
- Reflective Preparedness: think about your objective. What do you want to accomplish? How would you like to say it? How do you want it to land with the person?
- Timeliness: determine when is a good time for the conversation.
- Values: what values can you hold in mind during your interaction? How do you want to feel about yourself at the end of the interaction?
- Begin with a “Kiss” (Keep It Simple and Specific) by providing positive observational feedback about what the person is doing well, perhaps their effort, skill, strength, or attitude.
- Use “I” statements versus “you” statements, which put others on the defense.
- Be clear, concise, specific, and descriptive in your examples, authentic in your praise, and reinforce the behavior(s) you want to continue.
- Offer suggestions and solutions.
- Move towards a “Kick” by providing specific observational feedback on areas where the person can improve, develop, or change.
- Be specific and descriptive in your “Kick” examples, supportive and respectful in your communications, and express areas where you wish improvement can occur. Share one thing they should stop doing, one thing they should start doing, and one thing they should continue doing.
- Follow up and get back to the person to see how learning, growth, and development went.
Apply the POWRR Acronym
- Point Out: Identity, acknowledge, and highlight specific strengths, accomplishments, or positive attributes in an individual’s work or behavior.
- What Is Right: Underscore the positive aspects of someone’s work, actions, or contributions.
- Repeated: Reinforce positive behavior and recognize repeated successes. Encourages individuals to continue their efforts and maintain their high performance.
Positive Psychology emphasizes the importance of focusing on a ratio of 3 (positive) to 1 (negative): For every “kick” constructive or critical comment, there should be at least three positives.
It is easier to give someone constructive feedback when an alliance is well established and trust, respect, and safety are intact. There are potential challenges when giving feedback if the relationship is tenuous or the person is mistrustful, distant, or unsafe. When organizations have the presence of psychological safety, they are more likely to have teams that share their observational feedback, which leads to better collaboration, coordination, communication, and effective decision-making.
Questions and Reflections:
- How do you provide constructive feedback?
- What do you imagine the person experiences hearing your feedback?
- How is psychological safety a core business strategy for your organization?
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Meet Jodie, your Culture & Transformation Captain. With over twenty years helping people change, facilitating team discussions, building cultures, designing, implementing and teaching classes, your organization is in good hands.
