How Fast Feedback Fuels Performance

• Supports agility: Fast Feedback energizes employees and enables teams to make real-time, on-the-fly performance adjustments that create a competitive edge.
• Inspires excellence: Employees are 3.6 times more likely to strongly agree that they are motivated to do outstanding work when their manager provides daily (vs. annual) feedback.
• Retains talent: Employees today are looking for purpose-driven work and a manager who acknowledges and accelerates their progress.

Managers who continually listen, ask questions, gain context and promote dialogue have progressed to a coaching mindset. These best-in-class managers use ongoing conversations to deliver energizing feedback that celebrates successes and calibrates performance.

Meaningful feedback is frequent.

Effective feedback has an expiration date. Feedback should be a common occurrence -- for most jobs, a few times per week. People remember their most recent experiences best, so feedback is most valuable when it occurs immediately after an action.

Meaningful feedback is focused.

Ineffective feedback is vague and doesn't inform change. For instance, ranking all team members on the same general measures won't capture each individual's unique strengths and day-to-day work.

The best managers individualize feedback to employees' natural talents and performance needs. They ensure feedback is relevant to the individual's contributions and the organization's purpose -- showing employees how their day-to-day efforts influence the big picture.

Meaningful feedback is future-oriented.

Harping on an employee's prior blunders is anything but motivating. Managers can inspire growth by emphasizing the current moment and what's ahead -- recognizing employees' accomplishments and removing roadblocks for tomorrow. What can we do to get even better? How can we prepare for the future? What did you learn from this phase?

That's not to say managers shouldn't acknowledge the past: Reflection facilitates learning. Top talent workers aren't looking only for "feel-good" feedback -- they want to be pushed to be their best.

The first action that leaders need to take is to transform managers into coaches. 

Coaching is a unique skill set that managers need to cultivate. Fortunately, the right manager development demystifies coaching and evolves a manager's mindset -- giving them exactly what they need to become coaching aficionados who provide excellent feedback.

In a development-focused work culture, feedback isn't a one-way, top-down event. Individuals, managers and leaders should all give and receive feedback -- showing appreciation for one another's efforts through an honest, open, ongoing dialogue. Peer-to-peer feedback strengthens relationships and cross-departmental collaboration.

Leaders should model the behaviours they want their managers to display by sharing "Fast Feedback" with them.

Leaders need to abandon annual reviews in favor of the five coaching conversations that are scientifically shown to improve performance. Leaders should assess their current performance management approach, then implement the necessary changes to shift to feedback-rich performance development.