I had an interesting conversation with a current coaching client this week. She described receiving unexpected feedback and how it ‘hung around’ and clouded her thinking for a fortnight. In fact, it really bothered her!
Out of the blue, with no warning and certainly no ‘Warm Up’ conversation, she received an email with a statement saying a recent project she completed was ‘Satisfactory’. She was given a rating (Evaluation feedback) of 3.5 out of a possible rating of 5. This number was followed by a single sentence, ‘You showed insight at times.’
‘It’s just annoying. I’ve been working with the team for four years and they have never mentioned formal feedback before. I was not given any idea of the criteria they were using to rate my performance. There was no mention of what a 4 out of 5, or a 5 out of five looks like. I thought I did a great job on that project, so I’m not sure why they rated me as SATISFACTORY. And to receive it as an email sucked. It was de-motivating’.
This is a classic example of how to not offer feedback. Here’s what went wrong:
No Warm Up
No intention explained
Not tailored to the recipient
No permission asked
No Explanation of rating system used in the Evaluation Feedback
No Guidance Feedback offered
No Cool Down Conversation for over two weeks (and still none!).
While the intention in offering the feedback may have been to help my client improve her performance, the impact was negative.
I encouraged my client to reach out and ask for a Cool Down conversation about the feedback, so she can have an understanding of the intention, the criteria used and some guidance feedback to move from a 3.5 to a five. She is a bit reluctant, as the hangover fog from receiving the unexpected Evaluation feedback is only just starting to lift. She is suffering from a feedback hangover.