Introduction

When Peter McLaughlin and I first began talking about the topics of communication and feedback specifically, we quickly realized we had several things in common. We both felt that we were not particularly effective in giving feedback. In fact, we felt that we were pretty bad.

We enjoyed the challenge and the positive results that come with a successful feedback conversation. We wondered why we had not naturally learned to give feedback. We agreed that if we were provided with a roadmap or model for giving feedback, we would have performed much more effectively in such situations. Looking back at particular examples, we both had a sense of delight from the positive encounters, and a sense of dread over the sessions that left us feeling discouraged, beaten down and lackluster.

So why did we begin a project filled with such negative emotion? The answer—both to improve our own feedback skills and to examine what it would take to teach a new perspective and help “turn the opinion tide” that has made feedback a dreaded negative topic.

Who doesn’t want to get better? Have you ever known anyone who said, “Nah, I’ll just stay mediocre and by the way, I don’t want a raise, promotion or exciting project…” Probably not. Our internal drive propels us to strive, learn and improve.