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How to give feedback

How to give feedback

Charles-Axel Dein

July 07, 2017
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  1. How to give feedback
    Charles-Axel Dein
    July 2017

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  2. Table of contents
    1. Why it's important
    2. How to do it
    3. Bad examples

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  3. Intro
    The "T3B3" tool

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  4. T3 = "Top 3" things you
    do well
    Reinforcing feedback

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  5. B3 = "Bottom 3" things
    you can work on
    Redirecting feedback

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  6. This presentation is
    applicable to both
    redirecting and
    reinforcing feedback

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  7. Part 1.
    Why
    It's
    Important

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  8. Great mentors deliver
    great feedback

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  9. Being great at
    delivering feedback
    helps receiving it

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  10. Part 2.
    Howto
    Deliver
    Feedback

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  11. Here's an example situation
    Your colleague said the software you just shipped on the connected
    toaster was "a piece of shitty spaghetti code".

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  12. Let's try without a
    framework!

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  13. "You make disrespectful
    comments about code."
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  14. How does that make you feel?

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  15. Now, let's review some
    better ways to share
    feedback.

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  16. First we'll review the
    model
    Then we'll have an example feedback

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  17. Framework 1: Non-Violent
    Communication's ONFR
    1. Observations
    2. Feelings
    3. Needs
    4. Request

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  18. Simplified example: Non-
    Violent Communication
    1. Observation: yesterday you said that my code was "a piece of shitty
    spaghetti code".
    2. Feelings: this made me feel disrespected because I had put a lot of
    energy in this new feature.
    3. Needs: for our team to function well, we need feedback to be
    shared in a respectful manner.
    4. Request: moving forward, can you try to find better words and more
    actionable feedback?

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  19. Framework 2: Crucial
    Conversations' STATE
    1. State your facts
    2. Tell your story
    3. Ask for others' paths
    4. Talk tentatively
    5. Encourage testing

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  20. Simplified example: Crucial
    Conversation
    1. State: yesterday you said that my code was "a piece of shitty
    spaghetti code".
    2. Tell: I can't help but think you want to hurt my feelings with such
    strong words.
    3. Ask: what was your intention with sharing those strong words?
    "Hold to your belief; merely soften your approach"

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  21. Framework 3: behavioral
    interview's STAR
    1. Situation
    2. Task
    3. Action
    4. Result

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  22. Simplified example:
    behavioral STAR model
    1. Situation: yesterday in the chat room you said that my code was "a
    piece of shitty spaghetti code".
    2. Task: N/A here.
    3. Action: I felt disrespected as a result. We need everyone to share
    feedback respectfully.
    4. Outcome: when feedback is shared respectfully, people are more
    keen acting upon it.

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  23. Part 3.
    Bad
    Examples

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  24. Feedback antipatterns
    1. The Generalization Attack
    2. I'm not talking to you
    3. The CIA Antipattern
    4. The Sloth Sandbagging
    5. The Feedback Sandwich

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  25. All of those are inspired
    by real examples

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  26. 1. The Generalization
    Attack
    By far the most common, and the
    worst

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  27. If only you could be less
    aggressive when giving
    feedback on code reviews, it
    would make discussions
    easier!
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  28. What's wrong about
    this feedback?

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  29. Avoid generalizations!
    1. Use examples (facts).
    2. Be specific (situation: where & when?).
    3. Talk tentatively, avoid attacks. It's your story.

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  30. How would you re-write
    it?

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  31. 2. I'm not talking to you

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  32. "Our team's code quality has
    lowered recently."
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  33. What's wrong about
    this feedback?

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  34. Talk to the person
    1. Use "you" when sharing feedback.
    2. Talk about concrete action your interlocutor did or didn't take.
    3. Make it concrete and actionable!

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  35. How would you re-write
    it?

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  36. 3. The CIA Antipattern
    "Can't Impact Anyway"

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  37. You could have led more
    projects!
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  38. What's wrong about
    this feedback?

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  39. Don't give feedback about
    things the individual can't
    impact
    E.g. leading a project is mostly dependent on staffing and business
    priorities

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  40. How would you re-write
    it?

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  41. 4. The Sloth
    Sandbagging

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  42. You could have done more
    mentoring!
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  43. What's wrong about
    this feedback?

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  44. We can always do more!
    1. Everyone's pretty busy. Focus your feedback on prioritization.
    2. Clarify what impact was missed.

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  45. How would you re-write
    it?

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  46. 5. The Feedback Sandwich

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  47. You're such a knowledgeable
    person! You could mentor me
    more. But I love working
    with you!
    — Inexperienced Feedback Giver

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  48. What's wrong about
    this feedback?

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  49. Go straight to the feedback!
    The feedback sandwich introduces cognitive dissonance and make it
    more difficult for your interlocutor to understand it.

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  50. How would you re-write
    it?

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  51. Conclusion

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  52. How to train?
    1. Focus on positive feedback delivery (5:1 ratio).
    2. It's fine to generalize if you can find examples.
    3. Do not nitpick!

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  53. Read more
    • charlax/engineering-management
    • Negative feedback antipatterns

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  54. Thank you!
    Questions?

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