Forget about “fine” and instead provide specific insight into what you liked. “Can you complete this by noon tomorrow? We give you guidance on how to prepare and give feedback, as well as hundreds of suggested questions and agenda templates to make the most out of your one-on-ones. No one looks forward to sharing that they’re making the team look bad in front of the client. Mention the time and place or specific project task. Brian writes and speaks about product and company growth and the adventure of living a meaningful life. “I love giving negative feedback at work,” said no one ever. But who strives for mediocrity? “I saw that you missed the deadline. Giving feedback here can be tricky, but if their methodology is getting a project off track, discuss the issue with an open mind. Giving Feedback. Alrighty: Are you ready to start giving feedback more regularly? Example: “Frogs are amphibians. Alrighty: Are you ready to start giving feedback more regularly? Giving feedback is tough, but necessary. But some people are more concerned with saving face — or saving time. ... 12 words and phrases to avoid when giving feedback. Even with deadlines set, designs in motion and a continuous stream of emails, your project is already falling behind. And too many leaders follow in the virtual footsteps of my former VP, emailing dead-end, two-word responses. Required fields are marked *. Giving feedback is never easy, especially if the feedback isn’t entirely positive. Lead from within: When feedback is given well, it shouldn’t alienate the receiver but should motivate them to perform better and be better. Another word for feedback. Your team can take it. How do you share knowledge in the workplace? CEO of Know Your Team. As workplace expert, Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D., explains managers sometimes struggle to deliver pinpoint and articulate areas of improvement, for fear it can upset their employee, cause them to grow resentful, or even less productive. Whether positive or negative, make a genuine sentiment. . . I need to right the ship.”. No one likes being talked at. Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group. Let me know.”, Sorry“Sorry, but I don’t think this is the best approach.” There is no need to lead with an apology. How do you right the ship? What Is The Difference Between “It’s” And “Its”? “To be honest . . This helps make the other person not as defensive in their reception of your comments, and also helps make it clear what you’d actually like to see changed. Make it clear the intention behind your feedback. Instead, they just need you to redirect them. Your perspective is not a universal truth. Have a bit of fun with it, practice in a low risk situation and judge it on its impact on the other person, rather than on whether it makes YOU feel comfortable or not. It’s a natural and not-so-glamorous part of being a leader. Your hard work paid off.”, Maybe“Maybe you could try a different approach next time.”Are you not confident in your opinion? Giving feedback is tough, but necessary. This earns me a fair amount of teasing from my co-workers, because in my effort to choose just the right word, I often grab a 10 cent word or something arcane that no one has used in conversation since 1906. The employee needs to feel valued, respected, and capable. The job of a great leader, manager and boss is to give feedback in a way that comes across as a gift—something useful, not something that makes the recipient feel bad about who they are and what they do. Feedback loops are the visible part of the broader system, but not its essential part. “Epidemic” vs. “Pandemic” vs. “Endemic”: What Do These Terms Mean? A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness, 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves, 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders, feedback in a way that comes across as a gift, 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old, The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succee. Brian seeks business and wilderness adventure. What’s up?”, Honestly“Honestly, your hard work paid off.”No need to caveat. The job of a great leader, manager and boss is to give feedback in a way that comes across as a gift —something useful, not something that makes the recipient feel bad about who they are and what they do. Ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly … and manager and managee. “Here’s where I think there’s an opportunity to improve…”. Clear and direct messaging is critical and, often, well-received.”. But those words are powerful because they are not really feedback. Then all they'll do is buzz and sputter until the feedback is broken with the key. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. But every team member deserves to understand what their boss or colleague really thinks. It may be a cliche,…, Have you ever quit a job because you did not get the promotion or title change that you wanted? We squirm, postpone, or avoid having to relay hard truths, all together. Besides, prefacing a remark this way can skew sarcastic or passive aggressive. Be clear, be detailed, and be kind, and your feedback will most likely be received in the supportive manner in which you offer it. Even if they are missing the mark currently, employees aren’t oblivious, and they will be able to tell if you’re making something up on the fly. Whether you manage a team or are frequently asked for input from colleagues, here are a few wimpy words you should strike from your vocabulary: Fine “Your changes look fine.” The linguistic equivalent to a passing C grade on a school report card. ” Comparing people doesn’t make anyone feel good, and it doesn’t achieve the results you want to see. “No offense . July 2, 2018. 1,000+ managers weigh in with their leadership advice, Breaking the (remote) ice: 5 tips for icebreakers in distributed teams, Becoming a better manager starts here with. In a service environment, the language that we use has a huge impact on customer emotions. A single pair of feedback terminals were fitted to his skull. After you’ve served them the sandwich, make sure to offer your availability to help them progress to the next level. No progress is made if you say these phrases and do not mean them , When you give feedback, it should feel like a conversation. . In a sales environment this is even more critical. Others simply do not want to invest the time required to craft an insightful message, whether the comments are encouraging or critical. The job of a great leader, manager and boss is to give feedback in a way that comes across as a gift —something useful, not something that makes the recipient feel bad about who they are and what they do. To make this clear to the other person, you can say something like: “Is that how you saw things, or do you see things differently?”, “I may not have given you all the information…”, Only say the last two phrases if you indeed believe you’ve made the same mistake before, or if you think you’re partially at fault for not supporting this employee as well as you could have. But unfortunately, too many people wimp out when it’s time to provide their perspective and end up creating more confusion than clarity. Unless you enjoy causing people to be angry, upset or hurt — chances are you don’t like giving difficult feedback. Giving feedback is never easy, especially if the feedback isn’t entirely positive.. That's it: just 19 words. Find more ways to say feedback, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. No one likes to be bombarded in the middle of their workday, or blasted on the spot without just a small heads up that a critique is coming. There are some phrases that are almost guaranteed to carry a lot of negativity no matter how well-intended they may be, and you should absolutely avoid them if you don’t want to be misunderstood. Colleagues can also be a source of feedback. “Please provide more detail in the next version of the on-boarding flow — it will help the customers understand the product’s value.”, Seems“It seems like you missed another deadline.” This word springs from a well of wishy-washy phrases such as “it appears” or “correct me if I’m wrong.” Something either is… or it isn’t. This isn’t about tearing the other person down. The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. Then together, create a better and targeted roadmap to success. Luckily for you, finding and using the magic words is not hard; all you have to do is remember a few simple rules and commit to positive scripting. One of the most important, and yet, most challenging role of being a manager is providing feedback to employees. “The team was engaged during the presentation and asked pertinent followup questions. This is why career expert Jill Tipograph stresses the power of the word ‘we.’ Regardless if you were at fault or not, making yourself part of the group creates trust and camaraderie. And for many, the courage to potentially ruffle feathers. . When giving feedback, allow the conversation to come from a place of natural honesty and trust. After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. Absentee Ballot vs. Mail-In Ballot: Is There A Difference? Feedback adjectives are listed in this post. Meaningful feedback takes time. You are probably familiar with the “elevator pitch.” You know, the one-minute speech every seasoned salesperson has memorized to deliver at a moment’s notice. N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R “I’ve always struggled with giving critical feedback during one-on-ones,” admitted one of our Watercooler members, from our online community of 1,000+ leaders in Know Your Team. Hopefully, armed with these phrases, you can ease yourself into giving negative feedback more frequently and more naturally…, When you have difficult feedback to give, ask if now (or another time) is good to give it. It might seem easier to sidestep it completely. Additional describing words / adjectives that describe / adjectives of various nouns can be found in the other pages on this website. Do not be tentative or timid — it helps no one. Helpful phrases aside, remind yourself that giving difficult, honest feedback is in the best interest of your team. See how your sentence looks with different synonyms. There is no reason to be anything but responsive, direct, and detailed when delivering feedback. I have an ongoing love affair with words. “I do not think this is the best approach because…”, Just“There just isn’t enough detail.”Do you want to hedge, stall, and diminish the impact of what you have to say? When they have an outline of could use improvement and what is going well, they are better prepared to not only take proactive steps to grow, but they will feel more comfortable asking you questions since you provided easy-to-understand feedback in a calm, kind and professional manner. There’s no good place for that phrase to go—“If only you were better,” “If only you were smarter”—and it can never convey anything positive. For example, if you think a coworker wrote a sloppy email to the client, instead of saying: “I think you’re careless and sloppy”… you could say, “I noticed that in the email you wrote, there were a few mistakes that made me feel like the work careless .” See the difference? Regarding this last phrase, only use it if you genuinely want to talk about how you yourself can also improve. Then just use this word. Business coach Christine Agro suggests this phrase as a starting point, since it acknowledges that while there was work done and it isn’t necessarily accurate, the employee isn’t in trouble.