How to Deliver Effective Feedback
Posted in Grow
The Coaches
Rhonda Boyle and Anne Herbster are the authors of The Coach Business Guide, The Path to Launch and Grow Your Coaching Practice. After working with hundreds of coaches and understanding their struggles in operating their coaching practices, Rhonda and Anne teamed up to create a clear path for coaches to follow in order to launch and grow a successful coaching business.This enables coaches to do more of what they do best - COACH!
Effective feedback that provides constructive insights can drive positive shifts for your clients. Providing feedback is essential to coaching, but it can be tricky to strike the right balance between encouraging growth and challenging your clients. Here are several ways to deliver feedback that can create lasting change.
Ask for Permission
Sometimes, clients are unable to hear feedback because they are closed to it. The first order of business to ensure effective feedback is to make sure it’s welcomed. Ask for permission before offering guidance.
When providing effective feedback, timing is everything.
Timing is Everything
Feedback is most effective when the timing is right. Waiting to provide input can render it useless because it’s no longer relevant. Provide advice as quickly as possible for it to be impactful.
Be Clear and Specific
Vague feedback inspires no one to make changes. Offer clear questions for your client to discover how they may improve. Focus on specific behaviors instead of personal traits. This will help them understand exactly what they can do to advance.
Focus on the Positive
Reinforce what your client is already doing well by focusing on the positive. This boosts confidence and motivation. Highlighting strengths alongside areas for improvement creates a balanced perspective. This can ensure clients feel both encouraged and challenged to make changes.
The “Sandwich Method” can be an effective form of feedback.
Sandwich Method
The “sandwich” method is a common practice in psychology and can surely help your coaching clients understand the cause and effect of an event or situation. Start with the positive, then deliver the constructive criticism, and end with another positive comment. Ask more questions that will allow your client to see the solutions. This can soften the negative energy that some clients feel when facing difficulties and the consequences of their decisions.
Conversational
To prevent your critique from feeling like a beat up session, make it a conversation. Ask questions, like, “What is your perspective on this?” or “What possibilities for change do you see?” This will allow your client to feel heard and improve their results.
Encourage Reflection
The answers can always be found through questions. Ask questions that prompt reflection to empower critical thinking. Through thoughtful analysis, your clients will take ownership of their own growth and development.
Stay positive! Effective feedback is about creating an open dialog where clients feel supported in their journey of transformation and foster open communication and continued growth.
To learn more, check out The Coach Business Guide: The Path to Launch and Grow your Coaching Practice, Chapter 1 – Getting Started.