More information about giving & receiving feedback

 

Doel et al (1996: 75-78) suggest that there are eight stages in giving feedback and six stages in receiving feedback. The following paraphrases the main points they make here:

Stages in giving feedback

  1. Become aware of your own style of giving feedback - when did you last give someone feedback, was it easy, was it constructive, was it to a man or a woman, was it balanced?
  2. Prepare the ground rules beforehand - just like ground rules for working with groups these are ways of creating a sense of safety in supervision, and they are important to respect once they have been set up;
  3. Understand the impact of differences in power - we know how this impacts on communication in general so it will around feedback too, as will the differences in culture, ethnicity, age, class which are present in our scenario;
  4. Be clear about the purpose of feedback - it is important to ensure that the improvement in practice for the benefit of service users always underpins your purpose, so it is important to think about the consequences of not giving feedback;
  5. Seek the views of the person to whom you are going to give feedback - you are always trying to evaluate a learner's insight into their own practice, so asking them about the practice first is important; notice that Jean provided Nazra with an opportunity to say more about the visit even though Jean may have had her own anxieties about Nazra's practice;
  6. Be specific and giving reasons - you will notice that Jean explained why she was affirming of Nazra's honesty, she did not just say it was a 'good thing', she was specific about why - this explanation is important for learners;
  7. The 'keep/change' rule - Doel et al state that this is a useful format for giving affirming and challenging feedback, and assists the educator to be balanced in giving feedback;
  8. Review the feedback ground rules - it is always useful to review how the supervisory relationship is being experienced - perhaps half way through the practice learning - so reviewing how feedback is being experienced can be part of this review.

Stages in receiving feedback

  1. Be aware of your own responses to receiving feedback - do you find it difficult to receive affirming feedback; do you become defensive in receiving challenging feedback?
  2. Ask for feedback - you will notice that Jean asks Nazra for feedback, this gives Nazra the message that Jean is prepared to change what she is doing and it helps to lessen the power difference;
  3. Do not become defensive - treat feedback as an important source of information is the most constructive approach, but sometimes difficult and it is important that the receiver feels constructive suggestions are being made about change;
  4. Respond to unfair feedback - there can be many 'selves' in the practice setting, and various emotions attached to each one which can spill over into supervision, or be 'touched' by feedback perceived to be unfair or critical. Coming back to the ground rules for feedback will be important in these situations, and then exploring any gaps in perception between the educator and the learner;
  5. Sweep up later - receiving challenging feedback (even if given well) can feel upsetting and it can impact on what you do next, so it's important to try revisit the feedback as soon as you can to gain some control over what changes are being asked for;
  6. Report on changes brought about by feedback - giving & receiving feedback requires thought, planning, respect, energy, risk and trust. Jean would appreciate Nazra feeding back what had helped her change her practice and Nazra would appreciate feedback on what changes Jean sees in her practice over time. Both Jean and Nazra will gain positively from this process.