Feedback Conversations

Change or reinforce behaviour, without damaging the relationship.

The Problem

It is rare to find someone comfortable with, and skilled at, giving feedback. And most of us are worse at it than we think.

Dr David Rock's research at the NeuroLeadership Institute, found that when those on the receiving end of difficult feedback conversations were asked how many were high quality, the answer was around five per cent (!).

The Insight

Done well, feedback changes behaviour and strengthens the relationship at the same time. Done badly, it damages both. The difference is not personality, knowledge or getting advice from AI. It is a skill. A skill you need to drill.

The Program

This is about drilling the skill of feedback using client-specific scenarios with real-time feedback. What happens in the conversational moments that matter? Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny, founders of People of Influence, have spent over a decade working with leaders to fine tune the nuances of giving feedback effectively.

Watch
Two conversations to balance

There are two feedback conversations, and great leaders get good at both. One catches people succeeding, the other helps them improve.

Support
Positive feedback
Catch people in the act of success. Encourage them, build motivation and morale, and reinforce what is working.
Stretch
Constructive feedback
Help people improve and grow. Surface blind spots, build self-awareness, and challenge them to get better.
Key Outcomes

What your leaders walk away with

01
Know what great looks like
Leaders understand what a great feedback conversation looks like, and why so few land well.
02
See where they stand today
Through the Growing Great People Diagnostic, an honest read on how well each leader currently Stretches and Supports their people. Constructive feedback is key to Stretching their people and positive feedback is key to Supporting their people to meet and exceed expectations.
03
Strategies they can use immediately
A simple, repeatable structure for feedback that changes behaviour without damaging the relationship, plus the language that keeps people open.
04
Practise the skill for real
Each leader practises real feedback they need to give, and gets feedback on their feedback, so leaders have baselined their skill and are clear what they need to work on next.
05
A toolkit and an action plan
Each participant receives a Takeaway Toolkit, plus their action plan built in the session for themselves and their team.
06
Nudges that reinforce over time
Behavioural nudges that remind and reinforce the feedback habit long after the session.
The Diagnostic

The Growing Great People Diagnostic

Feedback is one part of a bigger picture. Pair the program with the Growing Great People Diagnostic, a holistic measurement and improvement tool for being a great people leader. It measures how well a leader Stretches and Supports their people, across feedback, coaching and the other conversations that grow people, then tracks their progress over time.

Stretch
How well the leader challenges their people to grow, through high expectations, accountability and increasing responsibility.
Support
How well the leader provides the encouragement, coaching and mentoring their people need to succeed.
See the Diagnostic →
The Growing Great People Diagnostic report shown on a laptop
Session Flow

How the session unfolds

Timings and emphasis are tailored to your group and the time available.

1
The goal of feedback
Get clear on what a feedback conversation is really for: to change or continue a behaviour, without damaging the relationship, and ideally strengthening it.
2
What does great look like?
The facilitator brings a participant to the front and gives them feedback. Participants then give feedback and advice to the facilitator to improve their approach. The facilitator repeats the conversation, over and over again, each round improving something. The exercise only stops once the group decides the facilitator has perfected the conversation. From this exercise we draw out the keys to success.
3
Structure the conversation
A simple, repeatable structure: the situation, the specific behaviour, its impact and what to do next.
4
Practice
Each leader practises real feedback they need to give, in giver and receiver rounds, and gets feedback on their feedback from colleagues and the facilitator.
5
The Golden Rules of feedback
We unpack the golden rules including prepare (if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail), keep it proportional to the impact and be clear on your goal.
6
Beyond the word 'feedback'
Why the word itself puts people on the defensive, and the language that keeps them open, especially when asking for behaviour change.
7
Receiving feedback well
One of the best ways to create a culture of feedback is to role model receiving it well. We practise how.
8
Prepare the ground
How do we prepare our people to expect and be open to feedback? This is important to do before we actually change the way we give feedback.
9
Make it real
Each leader commits to the specific shifts they will make to implement better quality feedback conversations into their day to day.
10
Embedding
Over the following weeks to months: behavioural nudges, facilitated peer group coaching, individual coaching - a range of options depending on the engagement.
Format & Delivery

Shaped around your context

Duration
2 hours, half day or full day
Delivery
In person or virtual
Audience
People leaders at any level
Two ways to work with us

People of Influence is the consultancy through which Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny deliver leadership programs, team offsites and impactful conferences.

Contact People of Influence →

Leadership Engine is our proprietary platform for measuring and improving leadership effectiveness with diagnostics, dashboards and behavioural nudges.

Visit Leadership Engine →