Positive feedback has to mean something

Ruth Harrowfield – BA/BSc, MSc Hons, PGDip I/O Psych, PGDip Science (Cl. Psych)

“Great job – you did so well!” … What’s missing from this statement?

It’s nice to be encouraged in your work – but it’s got to mean something.

Positive feedback can be more than a good feeling; it can be instructive.

Its purpose is to clarify for the person exactly what they are doing well in their work – what the actions of merit were so that they can replicate them.

The positive feedback that’s stayed with me the longest has been clear and specific.

Ask yourself, “What exactly did I see, hear etc. that I want to recognise and encourage?”

Keep to facts and describe their behaviour and its impact. Share this with them, using words that describe exactly what they did and the positive outcome that it created.

I’ve found for myself that when I give feedback like this it feels more real, more like me – I feel a sigh of relief that I don’t have to hype up some over-the-top response. I just need to say what I saw/heard that I’d love to see again.

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I’m Ruth Harrowfield, an organisational psychologist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Together with my partner, Sam, we run Harrowfield People Development, a strategic learning agency. We help business leaders who are unsure how to grow the people they want to hold on to, for the purposes of engagement, productivity and organisational growth.

Working to a specific client brief, we draw on the disciplines of organisational and behavioural psychology to determine and execute strategic and tactical training programmes for personal and team development.

We help business leaders to bring out the potential that they see in their people by shaping habits of thinking, communication and action in the workplace. Talk to us today.