Sheet: S11 of 12
Part: Leading people

Feedback

Most feedback fails because the giver states conclusions, not data. Walk down the ladder of inference before you speak.

Readings

Mark D. Cannon and Robert Witherspoon · Academy of Management Executive, 2005

Actionable Feedback

Feedback is actionable when it leads to learning and results. Most of it attacks the person and stays vague.

Five flaws: attacks the person, vague, no examples, no range of application, no clear impact or next step.
Givers climb the ladder of inference from data to conclusions without noticing.
Self-serving bias in receivers and actor-observer bias in givers make each side see the other as the problem.
In a review of studies, 38% of feedback cases made performance worse.
Fix: ask yourself for examples, conditions, impact and the change you want. Use I statements.

Case: Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley, Part A (Burton and DeLong, HBS)

See it

Climb the ladder of inference with Ellen

Lab 11.A

Ellen’s manager says: Performance appraisals aren’t easy. Giving honest feedback as a part of performance appraisal is really important. Of course, you still have to be somewhat diplomatic with people nowadays.

Decide what to doI need to be tougher next time.
Explain or evaluate what is happeningThe manager is trying to help me give better feedback by encouraging me to be more direct.
Name what is happeningThe manager is giving me feedback about the importance of directness.
Paraphrase the dataThe manager has reservations about the amount of directness in my feedback.
Select data“Giving honest feedback as part of performance appraisal is really important.”
Available dataEverything the manager said, word for word

Same data, opposite conclusions. From Cannon and Witherspoon, Figure 3.

Fix the feedback

Lab 11.B

“We just can’t trust Bill.”

FlawAttacks the person. Names a trait, not a behavior
FlawVague or abstract. Could mean many things
FlawNo illustrations. No example of what was seen
FlawIll-defined range. Unclear when it does and does not happen
FlawUnclear impact. No consequence and no change asked for

After walking down the ladder

When it comes to new ventures, the owner sees you raising a number of reservations, but not sharing what you see as strengths or the conditions under which you could fully support a new idea. In the future he would like you to share both the assets and the liabilities of new ideas, and say when you could support one.

Frameworks

Ladder of inference

Argyris, refined by Action Design

S11

We climb from data to action in seconds without noticing.

6 Decide what to do
5 Explain or evaluate what is happening
4 Name what is happening
3 Paraphrase the data
2 Select data
1 Available data

Five flaws of feedback

Cannon and Witherspoon

S11

Check your feedback against all five.

Attacks the person	Names a trait, not a behavior
Vague or abstract	Could mean many things
No illustrations	No example of what was seen
Ill-defined range	Unclear when it does and does not happen
Unclear impact	No consequence and no change asked for

Questions to get actionable feedback

Cannon and Witherspoon

S11

Help the giver walk down the ladder.

Example	Could you give me an example of the behavior that concerns you?
Reasoning	Can you help me understand how you came to that conclusion?
Range and impact	In which situations have you seen it, and what was the impact?
Change	What would you like to see me do differently?

Check yourself

Q1“Phil is a poor manager” fails mainly because it

Q2The bottom rung of the ladder of inference is

Q3In the Kluger and DeNisi review, feedback hurt performance in about

0 of 3 answered.

Think it through

P1Take a piece of feedback you gave recently. Which of the five flaws does it have?
P2What questions can you ask when someone gives you vague feedback?