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« Book Review - The Daemon In Our Dreams by John F. Rooney | Main| Book Review - Think Two Products Ahead by Ben Mack »

Book Review - Giving Feedback: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges

Category Book Reviews
One of the hardest things to do in the business world is give effective feedback to a peer or subordinate.  This is followed closely by *accepting* feedback from others.  If you want a quick guide on how to handle this task more productively, the Pocket Mentor guide titled Giving Feedback: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges by Harvard Business School Press is a good option.

Contents:
Giving Feedback - The Basics: What Is Feedback?; When To Give Feedback; How To Give Feedback Effectively; How To Receive Feedback Openly; How To Manage Feedback Problems
Tips And Tools: Tools For Giving Feedback; Test Yourself; To Learn More; Sources For Giving Feedback; Notes

The nice thing about the Pocket Mentor series is that you're not required to wade through 200+ pages to learn a skill.  This guide is 75 pages of core information focused squarely on giving and receiving feedback.  One of the most important things they cover is the difference between feedback, coaching, and performance evaluation.  It's all to common for your boss to give you "feedback" when it's really a performance evaluation.  Knowing the difference between reinforcing/changing behavior and evaluating work can make a big difference in how seriously the input is taken, as well as what to expect as a desired outcome.  They also talk about the level of difficulty when it comes to giving feedback to change a job skill versus addressing a personality characteristic.  It's much easier to effect a change on how someone does a particular task as opposed to someone's temper when dealing with a difficult customer.  There are some good worksheets and checklists in the Tools chapter that can help formulate your thoughts and approach before you go diving headfirst into a confrontation that may not turn out well...

This is an ideal book for someone who's busy, doesn't have an abundance of time to read a full book, but honestly wants to improve in this area...

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