No Excuses Leadership

Master Feedback

I’ve always been an advocate for finding individual time to support the people I care about most.  As a principal, I made it my number one priority to get into classrooms every day to observe and offer feedback to classroom teachers.  As a teacher, I set aside time for individual instruction with 3-5 students each day to share next steps related to the goals my kids were trying to achieve. Feedback is different than praise.  Praise is all about finding the most positive thing you can focus on, wrapping it up in a feel-good compliment, and offering it to someone to make their day.  Feedback on the other hand is about being able to maintain that positive spirit, while at the same time helping someone become even better at their work.

TAKE ACTION

BOLD leaders are like master chefs when it comes to feedback.  They blend approval with candor, add just the right amount of advice, and then deliver their words at the perfect time and in just the right place.  So skilled are they, that the recipient of the feedback still feels highly supported and eager to try out the new suggestions they’ve just been offered.  Whether you are an administrator seeking to support your teachers, or a classroom teacher helping your students, mastering feedback needs to be a priority for any exceptional leader.

BE BOLD

Check out this great infographic from ASCD:

 “7 Things to Remember About Feedback”