Talking Feedback with Christy Erbeck

May 10, 2019

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In this episode, your host, Dan Neumann, is joined by a colleague at AgileThought, Christy Erbeck! Christy is a Principal Transformation Consultant at AgileThought with over 25 years of experience in domestic and international consulting, training, and coaching, working in both software development and non-product-focused environments, including manufacturing (discrete and process), distribution, and sales and marketing.

Today, they’re going to be talking about the topic of feedback. They discuss the importance of giving and receiving feedback, feedback fallacies, how to practice giving better feedback, how people respond to both poorly-constructed and well-constructed feedback, and how to give great feedback through the SBI model.

Feedback is a big part of what Agile coaches are asked to do. Giving and receiving feedback is critically important and takes a tremendous amount of insight and awareness to both give and receive feedback in a positive way. Tune in to hear all of Christy Erbeck’s key takeaways on the topic of feedback!

Key Takeaways

What are some feedback fallacies and challenges to giving and receiving feedback?

The three fallacies from “The Feedback Fallacy” article are: the source of truth, how we learn, and excellence

The idiosyncratic rater effect

Humans are unreliable raters of other humans — we don’t have the capacity to do it well and our egos get in the way

Confirmation bias and recall bias can come in to play

Thinking you know better than the person you’re giving feedback to (which is not the objective truth)

When someone perceives feedback as critical (especially from those who are not qualified in the specific area) they go into fight or flight

When stakes are high or a conversation is emotionally-charged, people often unconsciously tell themselves a story that feeds their immediate (often negative) reaction to hearing feedback

How to give and receive great feedback (and why):

Use the SBI Model (1. Situation, 2. Behavior, 3. Impact)

Through the SBI model, it becomes easier to frame the feedback in a way that is safe to deliver and receive

Using an SBI model can create psychological safety and gives feedback in a way that minimizes the potential that someone may have a flight or fight reaction to it

Don’t refer to yourself as the expert when giving feedback; instead, focus on the impact it had on you

Instead of looking at outputs look at outcomes

Provide high-priority interrupt feedback (which is critical to reinforcing a positive response)

Direct feedback is good, but don’t be tactless (be honest in an empathic way)

Get feedback on your feedback

Mentioned in this Episode:

Christy Erbeck

Agile 2018 Conference in San Diego

Radical Candor, by Kim Scott

SBI Model

Harvard Business Review Magazine

“The Feedback Fallacy,” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall