Managers and Mentors: Identifying Opportunities to Give Effective Feedback

Adapted from the Wake Forest University Mentoring Resource Center’s tools for mentors and mentees.

Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Giving effective feedback (emphasis on effective!) is an important skill set to develop, especially for those in mentor and manager roles. The best feedback is immediate. Don’t wait six months to tell someone that they have done a great job or that they are not meeting your expectations. This kind of delayed feedback is hollow and demoralizing. Instead, look for opportunities in everyday encounters to provide your employees, mentees, and/or colleagues with effective, objective feedback. Through the sharing of feedback, whether affirmative or constructive, you are giving those with whom you work and mentor an opportunity to learn and grow.

Below are some reflection questions to help prompt your thinking:

• Something that my mentee does really well is…
• An example (think behavior and actions) of when he or she did this is…
• What this demonstrates about him or her is…
• Something that my mentee could improve upon is…
• An example (think behavior and actions) of when he or she did this is…
• How this impacts me/others is…

Keep in mind that effective feedback is immediate, objective, and impactful. It should be delivered as close as possible to the behavior being discussed, focused on specific observed actions or behaviors, and demonstrate the impact of that action or behavior on others. One of the gifts that mentors and managers can give to others is helping them to understand both their strengths and opportunities for growth, and effective feedback is a great way to do that.