Practice Instructions

1. As the feedback giver, select a scenario most relevant to you.
2. As the feedback receiver, read the scenario and take the role of the employee mentioned in the scenario.
3. As the feedback giver, structure a feedback conversation and deliver the feedback to the feedback receiver.
4. When finished, as the feedback receiver, structure a feedback conversation and give feedback to the feedback giver.
5. Switch!

Feedback Conversation Structure

1. Get a Micro-Yes. Ask for permission to create buy-in.
   1. “Are you in a position to receive feedback?”
   2. "Do you have a few minutes to talk through how that last meeting went?"
2. Share the specific data point / behavior. Avoid generalities and focus on the observed behavior.
   1. “You said you would get that email to me by 11, but I still don’t have it yet.”
   2. "You agreed to swap the equipment for the next production run yesterday, but I noticed that wasn't done."
3. Show the impact. Connect to the downstream effect the observed behavior had.
   1. “Because I didn’t get the message, I was blocked on my work and was not prepared for the client meeting.”
   2. "Because the equipment was not swapped, we are two hours behind schedule, and half the team will need to work overtime."
4. Make a request / ask a question. This creates joint commitment to resolving the issue.
   1. “How do you see it?” / "Do you have ideas on how to move forward?"
   2. “Could we please devise a plan to prevent this from happening again?”
5. Create follow-up. Help both parties agree to next steps.
   1. “We agreed that you’ll set yourself to-do reminders for client emails in the future. We agreed to discuss this topic again in 30 days.”
   2. “You shared you’d like to create a production readiness checklist to list all of the production warm-up procedures. You mentioned you’d like to work with Rhonda on this. When should we revisit this topic?”

Sample Roleplay Scenarios

Scenario A: You delegated responsibility for client satisfaction to Jane. Within a few weeks, you're noticing Jane is underperforming... by a lot. The client is very upset, and they have reached out to you. It feels they may be on the verge of firing our company. The client copied you on a particularly shocking email Jane had sent them, where Jane is clearly expressing their frustrations to the client! How do you approach feedback with Jane?

Scenario B: Your rockstar employee, Vashonta, is doing great on all of their metrics. They make the job look easy, and they are producing great work. But, your colleagues mention in passing that Vashonta is always late to meetings. You've also been bothered by Vashonta's "oversharing" of their weekends that clearly make people uncomfortable. How do you approach feedback with Vashonta?