By David Norris — May 28, 2014
The Same, More or Less
Here's a simple way of giving and receiving 1:1 feedback.
Schedule a time and ask your team member to come ready to answer these three questions (thinking about how they do their job).
What could you do more of?
What could you do less of?
What should you continue to do the same?
You can also ask them to be ready to answer these additional questions (thinking about how you manage them);
What could I do more of?
What could I do less of?
What should I continue to do the same?
For your own preparation do the same...
About your own performance as a manager (thinking about how you manage them);
About your team member (thinking about how they do their job)
What could they do more of?
What could they do less of?
What should they continue to do the same?
I've used this structure on a few occasions and it's a super easy way to have constructive conversations.
Notes;
It's two way
If you're prepared to give feedback, be prepared to receive it. This creates a more open and honest discussion. It's also a great chance to learn how you could do things differently to be more effective.
"Could" versus "Should".
Could is suggestive. Should is judgemental. Notice how I only used should for the "continue to do the same" things. I used could for the things we might consider changing. These are discussion points, not pronouncements. People are more receptive to suggestions than judgements.
It's difficult to have this discussion without thinking about it first.
Praise gets included
Some of these questions are great for praising great performance, especially the "more of" and "the same". Even "less of" can be used for constructive comment.
Try it out yourself. It's the simplest feedback structure I know yet incredibly useful.
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