Why:
Giving feedback is one of the most important tasks of leadership. If you learn to do this well, you will develop strong teams
no matter what situation you find yourself in.
This model helps you give feedback in a way that develops the learner’s awareness. This helps her/him learn how to learn.
They then become their own coach and can achieve even more.
By covering both positive aspects and developmental aspects in one conversation, you create both support
and tension – the combination that enables development.
Objective:
To give useful feedback about both strengths and improvement areas.
How:
Step 1.
What worked well for you?
By beginning with the learner’s self-assessment, you increase her self-awareness and her ability to generate
her own developmental feedback. In Step 1, insist on talking only about what worked, not what didn’t.
Step 2.
What I also thought worked well ….
Add something from your own observations to their list.
Step 3.
What would you like to do differently next time?
Have the learner discuss only 2-3 things they would like to improve.
Step 4.
Let’s focus on improving <one thing>
This might be one of the things they suggested in Step 3 or it might be something else. Choose the one thing
that you believe will result in the biggest improvement in their performance.
To learn more:
One of the best books about giving and receiving feedback is What Did You Say?: The Art of Giving and Receiving
Feedback, by Charles and Edith Seashore.






