You know when there is something you really need to tell someone but you hold back and decide not to tell them?

You know when you have those imaginary conversations in your head with people that never translates to a real life conversation?

You know when you want to share feedback, but you are concerned for how someone will react?

All of this builds up inside you and the longer you leave it the harder it is to give it. 

In our house we have a phrase of when we are on the verge of losing our cool (yes, with three girls aged 8, 8, and 10 it happens!) When we are close to losing control we say “I’m going to go pop!." Usually this is enough of a warning for us to find a way to cool down before resolving what ever issue caused our blood to boil.

Giving feedback can be a similar high pressure situation, just like an over inflated balloon, you might go POP or cause someone else to go POP because of how or when you give them feedback.

I’ve created the POP Feedback Guide as a way to take the pressure out of any feedback opportunity by breaking down the real point of your feedback.

Consider someone you want to give feedback to. Deconstruct exactly what is the issue and gather your thoughts using the POP Feedback Guide

P - Process - is this an issue with processes? - are they not documented, unclear, or are they in place but not being adhered to?

O - Organization - is this an organization issue? - is there confusion or disagreement about who owns what?

P - Personal - do you have examples of observed behavior that indicates an individual may not be interacting with you productively or professionally? 

Once you have broken down in your own head which are Process, Organizational, or Personal issues to address, don’t just go barreling in and start the conversation, follow these four steps to improve the probability of a helpful conversation:

1. Time it right: Ask if now is a good time or suggest a different time. 

2. Share your intention: Explain what your intent is for sharing the feedback so the recipient can understand what you want from the conversation. 

3. Don’t sandwich it: Despite common advice, do not start and end with a positive and put the difficult message in the middle. It just distracts your message and makes the positive comments seem insincere. Just get to the point. 

4. Offer to reciprocate: Don’t just give feedback, express your willingness to receive it too. 

This approach has solved hundreds of disagreements, miscommunication, and crossed wires. Try it and let me know how it goes!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

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