4 STEP Process In Delivering Positive Feedback

I’ve read multiple articles on how coaches should deliver negative feedback. As part of a Fortune 50 company with a stellar training department, I sat through many sessions on the same topic. I even wrote a blog a few weeks ago addressing some of these coaching issues: Wanted Coaches: Wimps Need to Apply.

So much of our time as leaders and trainers is spent on becoming better at delivering bad news, we miss the importance of being good at delivering positive feedback. Through employee surveys, I was often reminded by those I led that I was not very good at the positive reinforcement.

Looking back, this is sad. Through 15 years in sales leadership, I had a tremendous array of people who deserved more praise than I gave them. Looking in the rearview mirror, what I present here is a process derived from things I did poorly at times and well at other times.

Positive Feedback: Specific, Timely, Enthusiastic, Public

1. Specific

“Good job”. That was my favorite praise. My second favorite was “Nice job”.

I realize now how often my exceptional people only heard those words. What this shows is a lack of effort on my part. When I did it well, I delivered a message that was specific and showed that I was paying attention.