Recently I read about a study done several years ago on the impact of feedback on learning and performance. A number of workers was divided into four groups. One group received training in techniques for writing at a certain level of readability, which can be measured using standardized instruments. A second group received the same training followed by six months of periodic feedback. The third group got no training but received the same periodic feedback sessions as the second group. The fourth group was the control group and received no training or feedback. The results were compelling.

The training-only group showed improvement in the first few weeks after the training, but by the end of three months their performance had dropped off to just about the same as before the training. The group that had both training and feedback improved immediately after training and continued to improve for the next six months. The feedback-only group showed steady improvement in performance. After two months their performance had been raised to the same level as the training-and-feedback group. In other words, most of the improvement in performance seems to have come from the feedback.

This makes sense to me, since the learners already knew how to write; they were being trained in a particular style of writing. This is where feedback shines - in helping to modify a person's behavior or performance.

Feedback is such a powerful tool. Used properly, feedback can enable a mediocre performer (who already knows the basics of doing a particular job) to do his absolute best. However, improper feedback can severely reduce the performance of a good worker and destroy the future of an otherwise promising newcomer. Because feedback can have such a strong impact on performance, I'm devoting two issues of JEM Performance Gems to examining its use and effects.

First, a definition. Let's consider feedback to be information received as a direct result of performance that tells us about the quality of the performance. For us to learn from it, feedback must be specific, timely, and relevant.

Feedback takes several forms. If I'm practicing on the putting green at the golf course (and I certainly should!), I watch the ball as each practice putt approaches the hole. Does it go in? Does it finish short or long? That's one form of feedback: specific and direct information about the results of each performance that I can use to improve my putting stroke.

Where a coach or manager can go wrong

Now let's say that I have a coach watching me. After every few putts he says something he thinks will help me improve. This feedback is not so directly related to my performance because it's the result of someone's interpretation of the performance and judgment about what to say. The factors of interpretation and judgment are my concern here. If a coach skillfully interprets what I did and exercises good judgment in what he says to me, then I'll probably learn and improve as a result of his feedback. But if his interpretation is faulty, perhaps clouded by ego, and his words are not well chosen, then I may decide to take up tennis instead.

In the world of work and performance improvement, faulty feedback is a sneaky danger because it can go undetected. What we may think of as good feedback based on all the right models learned in training can, in fact, be devastatingly wrong.

Seven Deadly Forms of Faulty Feedback.

Worthless Negative - "Maybe you're just not cut our for our line of work." This form has two major faults. First, it doesn't give the performer any specific information about how he did. Second, there's usually a hint of arrogance and superiority in this kind of feedback, as if the speaker is suggesting that the learner is an inferior person.

Oversold Praise - "I love the way you handled that. You're going to be great." In this case, as with the Worthless Negative, the speaker provides no specific information to the learner. Without specifics, the learner has no way of knowing which actions were responsible for the good result. This kind of feedback says more about the observer than the performer; the observer here is not taking the care to analyze the performer's actions and he's not making the effort to communicate that analysis. When I hear this kind of feedback statement, I immediately suspect the observer of laziness or ignorance.

Nothing - Sometimes an observer or coach just says nothing. I don't know about you, but I would not know how to interpret this. If I'm not confident I might think the coach was just trying to avoid hurting my feelings. If I'm confident of my performance, I would assume the lack of criticism merely confirms my own good impression of my performance. Both could be right and both could be wrong.

Empty Response - "Just keep doing what you're doing." The biggest problem with getting an empty response is there's no way to know what it means. It tells the learner nothing. While there's no criticism of any particular actions (and so may feel somewhat positive), there's also no basis for any performance improvement. As with Oversold Praise, when I hear of this kind of feedback I suspect laziness on the part of the observer.

Self-Promotion - "I saw Bill Franklin do something similar two years ago. After he worked with me for three months he got promoted to District Manager." Again, this says far more about the observer than the performer. There's no value to the feedback because it contains no specific or relevant information without a lot of further elaboration. This observer is far more interested in himself than in helping others and should not be in a position to do so. Unfortunately, we all know people like this and know that their type will not go away.

Praise Combined with a Worthless Negative - "I liked the way you dressed for this client, but maybe you should be working with a different type of client, perhaps one where the business agreements aren't so complex." This observer probably remembers the instruction from most feedback training to start all feedback with a compliment. The problem comes from a useless combination. The Praise is usually so minor that it gives the learner almost no reinforcement, and then the Worthless Negative just undercuts everything.

Empty Response Combined with Self-Promotion - "I think you have some room for improvement. Did I ever tell you about the time I sold eleven out of the twelve customers I saw in a single day?" This observer may also be following the rule about starting off with some praise, but then fell of the deep end. The "praise" tells the learner nothing he can use for improvement, and then the boastful story may or may not have any relevance to the learner's performance and how to improve it. Without a specific connection to his performance, the learner won't be able to learn from the story and probably won't listen anyway. Here again, I think the observer is driven far more by ego than a desire to be an effective coach.

So I ask you: how many times have you seen someone give feedback of one of these types? I hope you haven't made any of these errors yourself.

You can see that even someone with good intentions could use one of these forms of faulty feedback and not be aware of it. At the same time, some of these types of feedback happen because of an observer's personality faults. Whatever the cause, if you want to provide feedback (and you should) to foster higher performance in your business, then you'll want to eliminate any of these forms of faulty feedback.

What can you do when you suspect your employees might be receiving feedback in one of these forms? Chances are, the offending coach or manager makes other strong contributions to the business. You don't want to lose him, so it's time to give some feedback to the feedback-giver. Help him understand why his feedback isn't effective. Then help him find ways to use what he knows about the business to give more useful feedback.

In the next issue of JEM Performance Gems, we'll examine multiple ways of giving useful feedback: before, during, and after a learner's performance.