Giving Authentic Feedback Without Causing Offence
Training for managers under pressure
Motivate Others To Change
Discover the steps to confidently motivate people to change without triggering their negative reactions or jeopardising your relationships.
Authentic Feedback
Provide feedback that is generous, encouraging, and inspiring, even when it involves criticism. Authentically and honestly address difficult issues.
Avoid Defensive Reactions
Criticise constructively without causing arguments, conflicts, or making people defensive or stressed by offending or demotivating them.Refine your communication skills by learning to harness your emotional intelligence with one of the UK's most acclaimed management training courses.
Why Choose This Training?
More Than Just A Course Of Lectures
What gets in the way of developing and holding on to new communication skills are old habits of thinking and speaking. Even if the advice is very good the reason why it rarely sticks are the mental habits people inevitably revert to, especially under pressure.
Unlearning those old habits and internalising a more effective and lasting approach to communication needs more than a short course of lectures on how to do it.
What Makes This Training Stand Out?
What makes this training stand out is the exceptional support through one-to-one coaching sessions and continuous feedback. Changing behaviour is not an easy task as old habits are hard to break.
With a 40-year track record we can help you cultivate practical skills, and build your confidence to so you can successfully navigate real-world challenges, ensuring lasting behavioural improvements.
Testimonials
Join thousands of participants getting results
"What I love about this course is that I didn't just learn about the topic, this course is about ME. I'm confident I can reliably use my new skills, even when under pressure".
"A lesson for life! The power of effective communication is incredible when one masters the skills "listening with empathy" and "speaking assertively"
Clients We Have Worked With
Well-known companies who have used this course again and again, over many years
Course Summary
Training Objectives
This course is designed to help you improve your ability to give authentic feedback without offending the other person, ruffling feathers or starting a fight. You'll develop skills such as active listening, effective communication and managing emotions, with the goal of helping you to build stronger relationships and improve your professional and personal lives through the use of feedback.
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
You will learn a set of powerful emotional intelligence communication techniques so that you can manage difficult conversations, handle challenging situations, build relationships and set firm boundaries.
Transferable Skills
The goal of this training is to equip you with the tools they need to build strong, lasting relationships in your professional life, although because these skills are so transferable many clients report vast improvements in their personal relationships as well.
Develop Skills
This is a skills development rather than just a theoretical programme, so the emphasis throughout will be on you taking turn after turn, practising your skills, while receiving feedback and coaching about your effect on others.
Repeated Practice and Feedback
In your coaching sessions you will be helped to practise dealing with the kinds of situation you find challenging, again and again, until you are confident you can do it successfully.
Video Analysis
We'll combine practical, hands-on experience with video replay and analysis and discussion of the principles involved to help you gain both skills and understanding. Special attention is paid to your individual training needs, so you can practise your skills in real-life situations that you have to handle at work.
Sustained Change
That's why as well as your place in a small group, this training includes a generous amount of private and confidential one-to-one coaching sessions online, spread over several months, ensuring an exceptional level of support. This will ensure the changes you make are sustained over a longer period of time and any obstacles are overcome. Choose between online training available worldwide, or in-person face-to-face courses in the UK.
Course Dates and Price
For a list of upcoming course dates (for online coaching and face-to-face training), the locations of the next 3-day public courses in the UK and pricing Click here.
Free Initial Session
This initial coaching session serves as an introduction to the "Skills with People" course, allowing you to understand the course's relevance and effectiveness for your specific needs before committing to it.
Crucial skills for getting the best out of others
- Discover the exact steps you need to confidently motivate people to change without triggering a negative reaction.
- Give generous, encouraging & inspiring feedback that people will be genuinely grateful to receive, even when you're criticising.
- Authentically & honestly confront difficult issues, put people at ease by developing more open & trusting relationships with integrity.
- Complain more successfully, be tough when you need to, challenge poor performance, get more from people.
- Criticise constructively without it turning into an attack, causing argument, conflict & friction, making people defensive.
- AVOID the stress of upsetting, offending, irritating or demotivating people by your clumsiness, by helping them be more receptive.
- You needn't pretend, or avoid difficult conversations, or compromise high standards, or get drawn into fruitless arguments.
As a leader, giving feedback is an important part of your job. But it can be difficult to ensure that the feedback you provide does not cause offence or strain relationships with colleagues and employees.
On the training course we will explore the importance of providing authentic feedback without causing any offence, and how you can do this effectively. We share tips like cultivating a feedback-friendly culture, being mindful of language and tone when offering constructive criticism, listening actively to receive authentic feedback.
Authentic feedback is an honest, constructive assessment of behaviour or performance that helps people understand what they are doing well and where they need improvement in a respectful, non-judgemental manner.
The benefits of giving authentic feedback include enhanced self - awareness, improved learning and growth opportunities, strengthened relationships and trust, as well as boosted confidence and motivation.
Leaders who strive to create a feedback friendly culture with consistent reinforcements can cultivate trust in their communication. You can accomplish this by recognising both success and failure openly while using constructive language when offering opinions for improvement purposes only.
Authentic feedback encourages two-way conversations, where you can exchange ideas and encourage everyone involved can learn from the experience. You can help pave the path for further individual & organisational progress.
What Is Authentic Feedback
Authentic feedback is an honest, constructive assessment of behaviour or performance. It serves as both a tool for communication and also for self-reflection. Authentic feedback provides direct, objective information that helps other people understand what they are doing well and where they need improvement.
How to deliver authentic feedback without causing offence. Here is a simple, yet effective way to do it;-
Giving feedback – praising
Never criticise without first giving generous PRAISE. Think of something the person has done that you feel good about. Say:-
- That you feel GOOD(pleased, satisfied, impressed, full of admiration),
- what ABOUT(specifically what they said or did that you feel good about),
- the reason WHY you feel good about it(what need or belief of your own it satisfies).
Then wait for a response. The pause adds weight to your words. If you mean it and it is specific enough you will be believed. They won’t be receptive to your criticism until they feel genuinely approved of.
Giving feedback – criticising
Never criticise without first praising. To criticise, think of something specific that the person has said or done that you feel bad about. If your praise has been generous they will be receptive to tough criticism. Say:-
- That you feel BAD (dissatisfied, let-down, disappointed, worried),
- what ABOUT (specifically what they said or did that you feel bad about),
- the reason WHY you feel bad about it(what need or belief of your own it has failed to satisfy).
Wait for a response. The pause adds weight to your words. But don’t criticise until they feel genuinely approved of.
In order to help the other person be receptive to the feedback, rather than defensive it helps if you can make the feedback about you, rather than them. I.e. what effect did the other person have on you? It also helps if your tone is constructive, respectful, non-judgemental & encouraging so you target behaviours rather than making generalisations about the other person.
If you get it right then your authentic feedback gives the other person a heightened awareness and recognition of their strengths and development points. It enables improved learning outcomes, giving them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and progress.
Encouraging two-way communication is key for successful feedback as honest communication helps build trust between employees, employers, tutors & teachers, while enabling individuals to receive constructive criticism with confidence.
By learning how to do this you can also improve the decision-making processes by providing insight into various perspectives. Authentic feedback encourages people to move away from simply regurgitating information towards higher order thinking strategies which allows them a deeper understanding of the task at hand.
Benefits of Authentic Feedback
Authentic feedback can enhance self-awareness, improve learning and growth, strengthen relationships and trust, as well as boost confidence and motivation.
Enhances self-awareness
Providing and receiving honest and authentic feedback that is free from judgment or assumptions can be a powerful tool for encouraging self-reflection which leads to an understanding of one’s strengths and areas for improvement.
Authentic feedback can give people the knowledge needed to make better decisions, solve problems, gain confidence in their abilities, and thrive in today's working environment.
It enables them to see themselves through another's eyes without having their own opinions clouded by bias. Receiving consistent constructive criticism helps people gain insight into how others perceive them, helping build self-awareness as they understand not only what behaviours help achieve success but also those that hinder growth.
Improves learning and growth
Authentic feedback is essential for promoting learning and growth in both professional and educational settings. The practice provides people with a clear understanding of how their strengths and weaknesses impact you, allows them to focus on areas that need improvement, and drives progress towards their career goals.
For managers and leaders, feedback is particularly helpful as it promotes the development of higher order thinking skills and assists your team members to internalise skills, knowledge and job related tasks more effectively.
Providing timely and accurate feedback motivates people, as they are able to asses whether the steps they are taking are keeping them on track or not. It is extremely helpful to incorporate regular authentic feedback into performance review so that your team can measure their performance accurately and actively work towards improving if you’re not completely satisfied.
Strengthens relationships and trust
Authentic feedback is a powerful tool to build strong relationships and trust within any organisation. It establishes the relationship dynamics between employees, managers and colleagues, encouraging two-way conversations that focus on understanding different points of view and validating each person’s importance in the team or organisation.
This setting creates a culture of trust and respect, which encourages people to be open with each other, share ideas freely, appreciate differences and collaborate more effectively.
Appreciative feedback bolsters relationships as it helps people feel valued and appreciated for their unique contributions. Recognition reinforces positive behaviour while also allowing teams to celebrate success together.
Through acknowledging good performance both publicly and privately - even mistakes - we create safety which allows learning from our own experiences without feeling ashamed or discouraged by failure or criticism.
Improves decision-making and problem-solving
Authentic feedback offers great support to decision making and problem-solving by focusing on understanding rather than judgement. By encouraging self-awareness, authentic feedback enables people to make informed decisions based off of accurate insights into their own behaviour and skillset.
Providing constructive criticism with the focus of improvement as opposed to criticising can be a powerful tool in solving workplace problems that demand creative solutions.
When giving out or receiving feedback it works best it the person on the receiving end feels respected, as it helps to create an atmosphere of mutual trust between the giver and receiver. This in turn helps to foster an environment of open communication and support.
Boosts confidence and motivation
Authentic feedback is vital for boosting confidence and motivation in oneself, coworkers, and colleagues. Firstly, it can improve learning by providing honest critique of past performance that allow people to be more mindful about how their actions affect the outcomes they are trying to reach.
Authentic feedback provides an opportunity for constructive criticism that helps build greater self-awareness and understanding of one’s strengths as well as weaknesses.
This kind of feedback not only elevates personal capabilities but also reinforces a sense of self worth which leads to increased confidence in abilities.
Positive feedback can have psychological implications beyond making someone feel good momentarily - it also enhances self-esteem, and leads people to trust their own judgement more regularly, which can further boost motivation for further achievements.
In fact according surveys with low-income teenagers conducted by the University College London each respondent was randomly assigned either favourable or unfavourable commentary from average strangers on social media platforms such as Instagram - findings indicated those who received positive comments felt improved self worth overall even months later compared with baseline measurements before receiving any comments at all.
Implementing Authentic Feedback as a Leader
It is extremely beneficial for leaders to strive to create a feedback-friendly culture, encourage two-way communication and provide consistent, timely feedback with constructive and respectful language.
Cultivating a feedback-friendly culture
Creating a feedback-rich culture requires leaders to create an environment where people feel free, safe, and encouraged to share and receive feedback. This begins with cultivating trust in communication and providing consistent reinforcements that encourage team members to take part in the process openly.
Leaders who emphasise authenticity by being honest, kind and generous when giving feedback, while also noting the areas of improvement as they come up tend to produce the best results. It’s important for leadership teams to foster open dialogue between their team members by making time for back-and-forth conversations, and seeking out two-way feedback from all levels of the organisation. Of course it is challenging for junior members of staff to trust that it will be safe for them to criticise their managers, without negative repercussion, so some reassurance may be necessary, and some guidance to show them how to speak their truth without ruffling feathers. Contact us for help with this if necessary.
The most successful cultures are those that provide ongoing support resources - such as training materials or coaching sessions - so that everyone can continue learning from their mistakes throughout the year.
Encouraging two-way communication
At its core, authentic feedback is a two-way process that allows for open adjustment and adaptation. As a leader or manager wanting to facilitate authentic feedback, you can create an environment where both parties feel comfortable expressing their opinions and suggestions in honest but respectful dialogue.
Encouraging two-way communication builds trust among the team and inspires vulnerable conversations that can lead to better decisions and solutions.
By providing opportunities for meaningful exchange of ideas between leaders and members of their teams, organisations gain valuable insight into how they can improve systems, processes or products from different perspectives.
This helps identify areas of improvement that may have been overlooked while setting more realistic goals based on informed judgements made with all relevant information at hand. Fostering open channels of communication makes it easier for employees to speak up when necessary without fear of reprisal as any constraints faced can be addressed timely before frustrations boil over.
Providing consistent and timely feedback
Providing consistent and timely feedback is an integral part of successful communication and leads to better understanding. As a leader, providing feedback to users in a way that is constructive and free from judgement while still conveying its authenticity will help foster trust and team harmony.
This also allows members of your team to identify areas for improvement which can lead to better productivity. Consistent feedback encourages open two-way dialogue between managers and subordinates as users feel more comfortable expressing their ideas when they know their opinions are valued by those leading them.
It opens up opportunities for learning from mistakes as people no longer feel inhibited from discussing failures or missteps - this in turn helps build positive workplace culture over time.
Using constructive and respectful language
Constructive feedback is an essential part of any organisation. As a leader within a team or department, the responsibility falls on you to ensure that instructions and suggestions are given in a respectful way.
In other words, using constructive and respectful language when giving feedback will go a long way towards developing trust while also maintaining mutual respect between employees.
Language has far-reaching implications when it comes to giving feedback. How we communicate our thoughts can even shape someone's self-perception and their view of themselves as they strive for self-improvement.
Using respectful speech also sets an example of leadership behaviour that others in your team or department are encouraged to replicate over time, setting up positive dynamics within the workplace atmosphere.
How to Receive Authentic Feedback
Sometimes is hard to remain open to feedback, especially if you think you’re going to be blamed unfairly. Here’s how to receive authentic feedback in order to take advantage of the opportunity for growth.
Being open to feedback
The ability to give and receive feedback is essential for growth and development. Being open to receiving that same kind of constructive criticism is arguably the most important factor. However, it might be a tall order, especially if the feedback you’ve been offered has been delivered without much skill, or rudely, or clumsily, or you’ve been blamed unfairly for something that wasn’t your fault.
By maintaining an open attitude towards feedback, we are more likely to absorb the information rather than simply dismissing or begrudgingly accepting it. This mindset can help us understand what has been said in a level-headed manner, evaluate comments objectively and work on improving accordingly.
Openness also helps us create a culture where honest communication between colleagues is encouraged and appreciated. It is easier when a dialogue can take place without fear of being rebuked or made uncomfortable by too many negative comments.
Listening actively with empathy
Active listening is a key component of effective feedback, as it requires both the giver and the receiver to be present and engaged. Being an active listener with empathy involves focusing on not only what is being said, but also paying attention to the understanding non-verbal cues like body language or tone of voice, as well as the underlying emotions the other person is trying to express.
Actively listening with empathy enables you to have an understanding of why the other person feels they way they do, along with having clarity about their expectations from you for improvement.
Listening either empathy has more far reaching impact than just providing effective feedback. It can also help talent retention, employee morale and successful culture changes in organisations.
It helps build strong relationships between peers as trust increases when all team members feel heard every time. A focus on adapting communication styles based on individual differences within teams encourages collaboration amongst everyone which leads to better results ultimately.
Reflecting on feedback
Reflecting on feedback is helpful in personal and professional development. It provides the opportunity to honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses, receive constructive criticism for improvement, build self-confidence and drive progress.
Effective reflection can help you gain a better understanding of how others see your work, identify areas that need focused attention and create an action plan for continued growth.
To maximise the benefits of feedback it's important to remain open to honest assessment from yourself as well as from those around you, actively listen without interruption or judgement, consider multiple perspectives before forming judgements and act upon suggestions for changes with both confidence and humility.
Overcoming Resistance to Feedback
Understanding the reasons why people resist feedback and addressing their concerns and fears can help create an open environment for constructive criticism.
Understanding why people resist feedback
People may resist feedback due to fear of the unknown or a concern for damaging relationships with authority figures. This fear often stems from anxiety that they do not have enough control, leaving them feeling vulnerable and exposed when receiving criticism or advice.
Those in positions of power such as managers may also be reluctant to provide feedback because it can be uncomfortable and challenging to deliver messages about performance which could lead to negative reactions from their employees. You wouldn’t want to demoralise or demotivate someone in your team accidentally, by being clumsy, if you could avoid it by saying nothing.
Poor handling of resistant recipients can mean that useful, corrective feedback is completely disregarded by the recipient leading to further resistance. If recipients are treated dismissively rather than constructively then this could result in even more negative emotions arising and a lack of trust between parties if actions are perceived as punitive instead of supportive.
Addressing concerns and fears
When it comes to giving and receiving authentic feedback, understanding why some people may resist it is often just as important as knowing what should be done. Oftentimes, people who are hesitant about providing or accepting feedback harbour worries that the other person will take a negative opinion to heart and become hurt or defensive.
Because fear is such a powerful emotion when forming interpersonal relationships, creating a safe environment where people feel comfortable expressing honest thoughts and feelings without judgement from others is vital for meaningful conversations and problem-solving to take place.
To do this effectively requires leaders in positions of authority to have strong communication skills while setting specific boundaries around how issues should be discussed. Practising active listening and emotional intelligence techniques, such as affirmation and empathy, can make those providing the feedback more open with sharing information without meaning any offence by it.
Affirming statements at the start of conversations allows everyone to understand that everyone present respects each individual’s beliefs and experiences while ensuring they are heard before focusing on the problem at hand.
Creating a Safe and Supportive Environment for Feedback
Establishing an environment that encourages open communication and respect for compromise is essential in providing a safe space for honest feedback.
Providing a safe space for honest communication
Creating a safe and supportive space for communication is essential in workplaces, especially when giving or receiving feedback. In order to promote an environment where people feel comfortable speaking openly and honestly, it is important that everyone practices respectfulness and confidentiality in their interactions with others.
This type of environment encourages employees to be willing to express their true feelings about workplace challenges, without the fear of being judged or criticised. It can also foster a sense of trust between leaders and their team members.
People who feel seen, heard, respected, and valued are more likely to take risks which will eventually lead them towards career development opportunities that can help them progress professionally.
Acknowledging individual strengths as well as weaknesses helps people develop self-awareness, which will providing openings for both personal growth and personal success.
Being mindful of language and tone
The language used and tone of voice adopted when giving feedback is key to creating a positive workplace culture. Nonverbal communication, such as body language and facial expressions, can significantly influence how well the message is received.
Leaders need to be careful to ensure that their words are received in the spirit in which they were intended and tone of voice remains neutral or upbeat during difficult conversations.
Being mindful of how people may interpret messages helps eliminate misunderstandings by ensuring everyone feels heard while also maintaining professional relationships. It's important for leaders to take responsibility for delivering clear and honest feedback responsibly so everyone involved understands it without unnecessary confusion or worry about criticism or judgement being misinterpreted.
Offering support and resources for growth
Offering an opportunity for personal and professional growth is essential to create a constructive environment when providing feedback. Providing resources like self assessments, mental health counselling or additional guidance can support employees as they reflect on their performance and work towards improvement.
By presenting people with the necessary resources for growth, leaders will promote authentic development through ongoing reflection of behaviours which can lead into furthering individual knowledge related competencies.
Common Feedback Mistakes to Avoid
Being overly vague, focusing solely on the negatives and making assumptions or judgments are all common mistakes to be avoided when giving feedback.
Being too vague or generic
When it comes to giving feedback, the tendency of using vague or generic advice and criticisms should be actively avoided. Not only this type of feedback lacks in precision but also does not specify what needs to be done for improvement.
This can lead to confusion and ultimately no tangible actionable steps will come out from such a situation.
A lack of specificity leads to an inability for self-improvement. Instead sparking doubts and hindering them from achieving their goals efficiently. Specific feedback is essential as its presence helps foster learning, growth, self-reflection, trust amongst team members & unparalleled camaraderie between leader and follower alike.
Focusing only on negatives
Focussing only on negatives when giving feedback can lead to disengagement and resentment from recipients, making them feel devalued or discouraged. This one-sided approach can also discourage people from coming forth with open communication, as they simply do not want to hear the same kind of negative criticism all the time.
Therefore, it’s important that feedback describes both good and bad points in a balanced way, highlighting what should avoid while still offering acknowledgement for accomplishments.
A carefully constructed piece of constructive criticism incorporating aspects such as progress towards meeting professional objectives is much easier to accept than an overly critique which does little else but cause offence and hurt feelings.
Both positive reinforcement and corrective measures provide clear guidance on how we are progressing at our job role or learning process, allowing for meaningful reflection opportunities to help shape growth effectively.
Making assumptions or judgments
Making assumptions or judgments can have a hugely detrimental effect on the feedback process. Doing so leads to bias, which can be damaging for both the giver and receiver of feedback.
To ensure that feedback remains authentic and honest. For example, if an employee is consistently late to work but there are no underlying disciplinary issues associated with this behaviour, making a premature judgement would not only hinder their performance in future but also damage trust between the employer and employee relationship, due to unjust action taken based off incorrect assumptions.
The Role of Feedback in Personal and Professional Development
Through authentic feedback, it is possible to promote growth and improvement in both our personal and professional lives.
How authentic feedback can lead to growth and improvement
Authentic feedback is a helpful tool that individuals and teams can use to support personal and professional development. It encourages self-awareness, helping people recognise their strengths and identify areas for improvement.
This enables learning opportunities through enhanced understanding of expectations, practical advice on how to meet goals, and guidance in decision-making processes. Furthermore, authentic feedback strengthens relationships between colleagues or team members by creating trust and respect.
This in turn helps build an atmosphere where providing constructive criticism doesn’t cause offence but rather supports positive steps towards growth as trust is established over time.
In the workplace specifically, implementing this kind of feedback process can help boost motivation levels not only through recognising successes but also by encouraging employees’ input so they feel involved in achieving shared objectives.
Effective communication skills improve significantly thanks to two-way dialogues which allow team members to build further knowledge when discussing both common challenges and individual tasks while developing specific solutions with mutual benefit validity.
The importance of ongoing feedback for continuous development
Ongoing feedback is essential for sustained and continuous improvement both in the workplace and in our personal lives. Feedback allows us to gain a better understanding of ourselves, make adjustments and perform at the highest level.
It is important to recognise that ongoing feedback will need to be tailored from person-to-person, as people have different areas where they can improve or could use more guidance.
In the workplace, regular feedback helps clarify expectations for employees’ performance, build relationships between leaders and their teams based on trust and growth mindset. Constructive criticism delivered with empathy empowers employees by providing a sense of ownership over their own progress which should lead them towards improving themselves continuously.
It has also been proven that introducing 1:1s are beneficial because it offers personalised direction that takes into account an employee’s individual areas of excellence or opportunities for development combined with realistic goals to work towards.
Conclusion
Authentic feedback is essential for personal and professional development, encouraging growth and improvement. Positive and constructive feedback can have immensely positive impacts on people in terms of self-awareness, decision-making, problem-solving, trust-building and motivation.
As a leader or manager it’s important to create an environment where honest two-way communication is encouraged while being mindful of how language is used. It should be supported with resources to help people develop further.
It’s crucial to offer ongoing feedback as this will allow people to continuously monitor their progress as they learn from experience. With the right preparation and practices in place, giving authentic feedback without causing offence becomes easier.
FAQs
1. What is authentic feedback?
Authentic feedback is giving honest praise and criticism.
2. How can managers give feedback without causing offence?
Managers can ensure that when you are giving negative or disciplinary feedback, you use specific examples of behaviour along with clear information about consequences if changes are not made. You should also allow the person you are giving the feedback to the opportunity to respond.
3. What techniques should be used for providing effective workplace feedback?
Workplace environments should implement established procedures for structured and regularised feedback processes that take into account cultural differences, which includes both verbal and non-verbal elements of communicating an assessment of work quality and offering solutions that encourage self-awareness through his/her own work rather than others’ opinion .
4. What makes it difficult most people when engaging in providing constructive Feedback?
Giving constructive yet respectful criticism without creating emotional pain or any form of uneasiness is what makes giving honest and authentic feedback difficult. We can show you how to do it safely.