What is construction feedback?
Constructive feedback is letting people know in a helpful way
how they are doing, and how their performance is being perceived.
Constructive feedback can be positive (letting someone know they're
doing well), negative (letting people know about ways in which they
could do better), or neutral (just an objective observation or
analysis).
There are two main elements that make feedback (particularly
negative feedback) constructive.
1. The content of the feedback: Constructive feedback is
specific, behavior or issue-focused (rather than a value judgment
about the individual), based on what is observable (rather than
assuming anything about the person's attitude or motivation), and
includes some specific direction on how to make improvements if
some are needed.
2. Most important, how the feedback is delivered. To be
constructive, feedback should not be delivered in a manner that
provokes resentment, resistance, defensiveness, hurt feelings,
shame or a sense of failure. It means not backing the person into a
corner with attacks. Honest doesn't mean tactless. This is where
emotional intelligence really makes a difference.