Center for Creative Leadership Model for Giving Feedback (SSBIR):
- Set the Stage: Intention / readiness to listen:
- Ask if now is a good time to share feedback
- Prepare listener for feedback
- State the Situation:
- What, where, when of the situation
- State the Behavior:
- Report facts (not interpretations, judgements) about behavior
- State the Impact:
- Most important step
- Describe how behavior is affecting situations, time, money, and stakeholders
- Resolution:
- Ask how to resolve situation
- Ask how to prevent future occurrences
- If behavior is good, ask – how can we continue or enhance this?
When to give feedback:
- Frequently
- Easier to reinforce behavior
- Start with positive feedback
- Put money in emotional bank account
- Timely
- While experience is fresh
- Don’t wait till experience or project is done
- Can give feedback as they approach goals
- Put money in emotional bank account
- Development opportunity
- Communicate opportunities to achieve goals
- Solve performance problems
- After there is money in the emotional bank account
- Help listener arrive at strategies that will improve performance
More feedback tips
- If it’s important, make an appointment for feedback
- Be sensitive to power imbalance (choose neutral location to mitigate this)
- Keep it simple
- Leverage their strengths
- Prepare feedback to fit listener’s communication style
- Offer suggestions and support
- Get their feedback about the feedback
Giving constructive feedback is an important skill for teachers to have in order to set and manage high classroom expectations. This is also an important skill to teach to students so they can communicate in ways that set and manage high expectations for their project teams. The SSBIR method is a process that can be practiced by teachers and students in order to give both positive and negative feedback.
Preparation Steps
- Create visuals and role-play situations for SSBIR method
- Create visuals and handouts for feedback methods and tips
- Practice using SSBIR method in classroom and team management situations
Early Implementation Steps
- Model and role-play SSBIR method with student teams. Have each student practice being the speaker and the listener in the process.
- Have students reflect on practice sessions with SSBIR method and predict when they will use this method in the future to give both positive and negative feedback.
- Stage times for teams to have meetings dedicated to SSBIR feedback cycles so that students can practice giving each other constructive feedback.
Advanced Implementation Steps
- Make frequent constructive feedback a part of team management routines.
- Have students reflect on the SSBIR conversations and offer suggestions for how they can be better speakers and listeners during these conversations.
- Have students document the next steps that emerge from SSBIR conversations and add these to their team’s goal setting documentation.
- Collaboration articles