Clark Shera - Feedback That Works for Nonprofit Organizations

AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK

Feedback That Works for Nonprofit Organizations

IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOKS

Aimed at managers and executives who are concerned with their own and others development, each guidebook in this series gives specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership problem.

Copyright 2013 Center for Creative Leadership.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

CCL No. 460

ISBN No. 978-1-60491-172-5

CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

WWW.CCL.ORG

AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK

Feedback That Works for Nonprofit Organizations

Shera Clark

THE IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK SERIES

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated since its inception in 1970. The purpose of the series is to provide leaders with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCLs mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.

CCLs unique position as a research and education organization supports a community of accomplished scholars and educators in a community of shared knowledge. CCLs knowledge community holds certain principles in common, and its members work together to understand and generate practical responses to the ever-changing circumstances of leadership and organizational challenges.

In its interactions with a richly varied client population, in its research into the effect of leadership on organizational performance and sustainability, and in its deep insight into the workings of organizations, CCL creates new, sound ideas that leaders all over the world put into action every day. We believe you will find the Ideas Into Action Guidebooks an important addition to your leadership toolkit.

Table of Contents

IN BRIEF

In nonprofit organizations, staff development is increasingly crucial, but lack of resources leads many nonprofit leaders to believe that effective feedback systems are unattainable. However, nonprofits can implement effective feedback through their organizations by taking advantage of the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model.

The first step of SBI is to capture the specific situation in which the behavior occurred. This specificity creates context for your feedback recipient, so he or she can clearly associate the behavior with a place and time. Second, describe the behavior, but not the person. For example, rather than saying that a person was rude, describe what the person did that was rude (interrupted you, did not pay attention to your questions, and so forth). This prevents people from perceiving that you are judging them, and instead gives them specific actions that they need to reflect on. Finally, discuss the impact that the persons behavior had on you, and what your reaction to that behavior was. This sharing of perspective increases trust and communication between you and the recipient, and strengthens the probability that your feedback will be understood.

Using this system, you can give effective feedback that will help your nonprofit achieve its mission.

Effective Feedback and Nonprofit Organizations

Effective feedback is an important and efficient way to let people know the impact of their behavior so they are able to make informed choices regarding future actions. Feedback is also a way to help people who work together do so more efficiently, because it creates open communication, which allows for frank discussions regarding problems and concerns.

Effective feedback consists of crafting a simple and direct message about behavior that separates what happened from how we think or feel about it, reduces uncertainty and ambiguity, and provides actionable information rather than messages that have to be interpreted. Such feedback can also help individuals make better choices about their behavior and help people work together more efficiently, because it fosters open and direct communication. It also provides people with tangible information about how their actions have had an impact on others. People are likely to change ineffective behaviors if they realize they are having a negative impact or understand exactly what it is they are doing that is getting in the way. Effective feedback empowers people with the information they need in order to know whether they are having the impact they want.

Nonprofit organizations increasingly see staff development as a critical goal in their work. In most if not all nonprofit organizations, staff members are the reason the mission is achieved (or not). Even if your development budget is nonexistent, effective feedback can be a low-cost and simple way to develop yourself and the people you work with. Effective feedback can also be part of a larger development effort in service of your organizations mission.

Effective feedback empowers people with the information they need in order to know whether they are having the impact they want.

The work of nonprofit organizations is challenging, particularly as the contexts within which they work are increasingly complex and the people with whom they work may have different backgrounds and perspectives. In such a diverse environment, utilizing effective feedback is essential in facilitating successful communication across backgrounds and boundaries. This guidebook will show you how to use such feedback in your organization, and how to establish feedback systems that will continue to contribute to your nonprofits overall mission and effectiveness as an organization.

What Is Effective Feedback?

The key to effective feedback is the ability to create and deliver a specific message based on observed behavior. This kind of message enables the receiver to walk away understanding exactly what he or she did and what impact it had on you. When feedback is specific and direct, there is a good chance that the person getting the feedback will be motivated to begin, continue, or stop behaviors that impact effectiveness. Think about statements you have made to others concerning their behavior, and ask yourself: What did they do that made you think they were good leaders? What did they say and how did they say it to make you think they communicate well? What did they do that made you conclude their thinking wasnt strategic enough?