Two-step menu for effective feedback: Sandwich and Wrap

• A quality feedback , strategically raised, helps to develop better relationships, involvement, commitment and development of responsibility to raise performance levels.

The vast majority of team and interpersonal bond problems have to do with poor communication. It happens that, as each person interprets reality from their vision, this perceptual distortion causes differences that could be resolved by learning to manage communication.

Feedback is the feedback that we can use as a tool to inquire, exchange information, share opportunities for improvement and, at the same time, open new spaces for knowledge and inquiry on the issues.

In every process it is essential to create the appropriate environment, since if you improvise, perhaps the emotional state of the moment to be shared will not be the best and can produce cognitive blindness -what the other person is not willing to see or observe-, and the result will be invalid.

To create the environment it is important to have a space of trust, which allows communication to flow. Also, make agreements after giving the feedback - and also receive it - on how to proceed next time. Discrepancies in perceptions may appear, leading you to improve your communication and persuasion skills. One key is to make partial recapitulations of the small agreements that are being achieved, in pursuit of the final agreement aligned with the greater objective.

• You may be interested in: What is feedforward and how to give it to your collaborators to improve their performance

When a leader does not know how to give feedback, he goes directly to criticism, which is the most common way of expressing the complaint or recriminations towards others. This form is non-contributory if you want to create a better work environment and develop the potential of your employees. Criticism produces the opposite effect to that desired.

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Thus, the quality feedback , strategically raised, helps to develop better relationships, involvement, commitment and development of responsibility to raise performance levels.

To achieve this, each leader needs to have sufficient self-knowledge to face situations, not avoid difficult conversations and know how to channel them with highly developed emotional intelligence.

I also suggest that the instance of roundtrip feedback be promoted, that is, the other person will have the opportunity to share their impressions with the team leaders. In this way we are creating a virtuous round-trip cycle, which is the basis of any communication process with effective feedback.

The menu of two options that is added to the "traditional of the house"

There are several methodologies to implement feedback instances in the organizational world.

One of the most traditional is to first deliver three outstanding aspects of the other person and then the opportunity for improvement by seizing the communication ("From my perspective I see that ...", "I think it is possible to improve ...", "I think that… ”), that is, making yourself fully responsible for what you are saying in a sense of support and construction.

This last aspect is key: you need to take control of the communication, so that the other person does not feel intimidated or attacked, especially in the instance of the opportunity for improvement, since there are several aspects of the emotional dimension and feelings at stake. that appear.

In this article, I invite you to learn about two other feedback methodologies that can be useful at different times in daily management:

Feedback Sandwich

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By giving feedback, the objective is for the other person to know the perception that you have regarding the reality that you have observed. This does not mean wanting to be right at all costs, or imposing your biased vision.

The structure is to start by commenting on what the other person has been doing well (it would be bread); Then mention what can be improved from your perspective (the ingredients of the sandwich) and to end the conversation, there is the portion of bread with positive aspects that could be achieved with that superior adjustment, and any other general type on performance.

This type of feedback is dynamic, relatively short, and can be used to make rapid improvements in processes where it is necessary to get to the point and solve it with agility.

Why the sandwich thing? Because doing it "between two positive breadths" reduces the discomfort of the other person to be affected by the observations, and generates a greater willingness and openness to listen to improve.

Feedback Wrap

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Emerged as a tool of the so-called Management 3.0 promoted by Jurgen Apello, it seeks to incorporate feedback as a constant tool within the processes.

The approach is more human, centered on the person, and the improvement is directed to the professional field and also to individual development, which each one can transfer to their personal life if applicable. It is a more complete and comprehensive type of feedback , not only focused on observing the behavior to be corrected.

It is called Wrap because it consists of a main layer that contains a series of ingredients that will give consistency to the feedback that you will be exchanging.

Here is the recipe step by step:

1. Describe the context: in the first part you will describe in detail and without negative emotional charges (that is, emotional neutrality) the fact, stripped of interpretations and judgments. Make sure the other person understood what you are communicating

2. Write your observations: record everything you have observed: the good, the not so good. The idea is to overcome and improve, not to find guilty. You can suggest that the other party take notes as well.

3. Express your emotions honestly: in each moment where you describe the events, associate and specify how you felt at that moment. Do not exaggerate your emotions: everything in the fairest possible dimension.

4. Prioritize what you listed in writing and order by value: from highest to lowest, what is the value you hope to obtain in each situation that can be improved, with clear and tangible indicators.

5. End with concrete suggestions: ask the other person what three things they can do to narrow the gap between the needs you have and the events you just described. Allow yourself to express yourself freely, ask questions, and delve into the issues that are important to you. Then make suggestions and agreements that allow us to move forward: this is the meaning of feedback .

By applying these feedback methodologies permanently, you can improve processes, obtain greater clarity when communicating and create a culture of this type of practice at all levels of your company.

• Read: 7 keys to give feedback to your collaborators without bothering them

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Two-step menu for effective feedback: Sandwich and Wrap
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