Coaching Stories 9 - When Should I Give Feedback?

 I see that there is a problem in the team. They are not being productive enough. When should I tell them? Next meeting?

No!! Now. Feedback is the way to grow. The breakfast of champions. 

Principle: If you notice something wrong, give feedback immediately so it can be corrected right then. The longer you wait, the more the damage.

Give feedback immediately. Point out the error, point out how it impacts, make it about the act or the process or the behavior and not the person, tell them how you feel about it, tell them the right process so they can correct themselves and leave them with a clear target so they aim for that. 

For example someone who comes late to meetings all the time give feedback like this - I want to give you some feedback in the interests of our team, as you are aware you have been coming late to the meetings, at an impact level it makes the meetings less productive, at a feeling or energy level it makes the team feel that you do not care about the team, everyone feels demotivated that you are letting the team down and we all feel bad that we are not aligning as well as we should, yes we know there must be a reason but if you can make it before time it would be a huge thing for all of us. We know you will do this for the team and be the first person in the meeting next time. Right?

That's my shot at it. Whatever you do, make sure that the feedback improves the behavior and not make the person feel singled out or alienated. 

Practice giving more and more feedback so you give it without charge, without getting personal, making it process oriented and in a way that the other person changes his/her behavior. 

And yes, sooner the better.