Monthly Archives: October 2021

Feedback and the SCARF Model

Posted on by
Reply

In my last post I described a feedback model that has been proven to be easy and effective.

It also fits in well to the SCARF Model as developed by David Rock.

SCARF Stands for Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness.

If you are unfamiliar with the Model, it proposes that humans have two basic modes: Threat & Reward.

Anything that happens which threatens you, you will move to defend or get away from. We know it as the “flight, fight or freeze” model.

Anything that is seen as a reward we will move towards.

Using the feedback model I proposed (R-ASBINT) we can see that it fits in well with SCARF.

Firstly, if you have a good relationship with the person you are giving feedback to, they are more likely to accept the feedback or at least listen to it and reflect on it positively. They may decide it’s not true or effective so they will make their choice to act on the feedback or not.

However, this is better than the alternative where there is little to no positive relationship and the feedback is seen as a threat. The person may become defensive or simply not act on it in any way. It may also worsen the relationship, making further feedback even less effective.

Relationship = Relatedness/Status

The Relationship side of feedback, corresponds to the Relatedness factor in the SCARF model. A good relationship also builds the Status within the SCARF model. A person confident in their Status will act more openly and creatively, knowing they are well regarded and regard themselves well.

Behaviour = Certainty

Offering feedback also helps create greater Certainty. Again, this relies on a good relationship to get the best out of it. Providing clear feedback builds certainty in an individual’s world. Letting them know a missed deadline is not acceptable. Or arriving at a meeting late and/or unprepared. And, just as importantly, letting people know when a good job has been done, reinforcing the behaviour and attitudes that need to become the norm.

In our current crazy world, some things may be difficult to be clear on. So it is even more important to provide feedback where some certainly or clarity can be provided.

Next Time = Autonomy

Where the feedback model looks for the behavioural change in the “Next Time …” stage, the model suggests not to dictate what to do. We allow the individual to choose how they will close the gap or continue the good behaviour. We do this by simply stating, “Could you do that differently?”, “Could you fix that?”, or “That’s awesome what you did!”. This relates to Autonomy in the SCARF Model, which give the individual the choice on how they want to develop. Sure, if they need help, provide it. But people are more capable than we might think and if you are clear on your feedback and situation, they’ll have an idea of what to do.

Simple = Fairness

Fairness in the SCARF Model is where the feedback model is so simple and easy to do. It’s also quick, you don’t need a meeting in a closed office, you can do it on the fly. So it allows for greater equity in our dealings with our teams.

Look for opportunities to provide feedback to your team members, peers and managers as the opportunities arise. Don’t just focus on those you want to “Fix”!

Finally

Management and leadership practices don’t operate in a vacuum. Many of our behaviours, beliefs and attitudes flow into all parts of our practices. Being more conscious of them, at least initially, until they become habitual will go a long way to building the self image of your team to becoming high performers.

Try the feedback model for a month. See how you go.

I’d be keen to hear from you.

I’d start with focusing on positive feedback. Often, at least in my experience, when team members are feeling food about themselves, the last thing they want to do is let their manager down. And many times they know when they are cutting corners. You may find as you provide the positive, constructive feedback, the gaps you currently see may disappear automagically!

Is this the worst acronym in management?

Posted on by
1

R-ASBINT

Feedback is often delivered awkwardly so it deserves an awkward acronym!
Pronounced Rasbint, it lists the steps in delivering effective, ongoing feedback.

Let’s have a look

Feedback is one the most effective ways to help develop high performance. Unfortunately, people tend to shy away from giving feedback. At least, feedback that infers a gap in performance. We might call it constructive feedback but the receiver may take it as negative feedback. And so, it can be delivered poorly. It is either too infrequently. It can be too vague or it can be over emphasised … like a storm in a teacup. Sometimes the intent is to coerce or belittle and to make the deliverer of the feedback feel better.

Worse still, delays in providing feedback, can have long term effects on the individual, team and business performance. Delayed too long and it gets swept under the carpet altogether.

So why do we give feedback in the first place?

The aim of feedback is to always improve future performance.

That’s it. Nothing else. Learn from the mistake, take corrective action next time and move on. Anything else simply over complicates it. (Feel free to Agree/Disagree in the comments).

Therefore, if you’ll accept my aim of feedback, let’s look at the R-ASBINT Model.

R – Relationship: This is fundamental in all leadership/management roles. How solid is your relationship with your team or the individual? The stronger it is, the more effective the feedback will be. That is why it is separated from the acronym by the hyphen. You can do ASBINT on its own but you’ll get better results with a strong R. Be sure to build the relationship with your team and the feedback will be a lot easier.

A – Ask: This is where Manager Tools with Mark Horstman and Michael Auzanne, differ from many other models. Ask first. It may be rhetorical (see Note below) and you will give the feedback anyway, but asking first is professional and polite. This helps with the R part above. People in good relationships don’t bulldoze others. And, hey, isn’t it nice to be asked?

Keep it simple: “Hey, can I give you some feedback …?”

S – Situation: Outline the situation you’re referring to, so that the context is clear and specific. This could be really simple like: “When we have have our weekly sales meetings…”, or “When we need to submit our monthly reports…” or even,”When we’re in a meeting …”.

Behaviour: Describe the behaviour you saw. Not what you thought you saw. Be objective, factual, clear. (e.g. your report missed the deadline.) Also, remove any inflammatory emotion if the behaviour has triggered you. If you use phrases like: “When you do the thing, it p!sses me off!” you’re making it about you and not about the performance.

“When we have our weekly sales meetings and you’re late …”

“When you don’t submit your data on time …”

“When you yawn in the sales meeting …”

Impact: Describe why it’s an issue. Be clear, concise, no stories and no lecturing. (e.g. when the report is late, it delays the Board Report and other people’s schedules).

Again, I like how Mark Horstman says it at Manager Tools:

“When you, did the thing, here’s what happens …”

Next Time: This (to me) is the best part. There’s no need for a long drawn out discussion. Simply say something like: “Could you fix that?” (Inferring next time), or, “Can you address that next month?” In addition, by leaving the solution with them, you remove the possibility of a “Yeah, but …”. If you tell them how to fix it, they may have a legitimate reason why your solution won’t work. (I know, how could your solution not ever work! 😉)

Thanks: Okay, maybe this is the best part. Say thanks and move on to your next task. Polite, professional, genuine.

Why it works

– It’s quick. It takes around 10 – 20 seconds in most cases.
– It’s conversational. There’s that R factor again.
– You don’t need a room to speak with them. I cringe at the times I took someone into a room (for privacy) when a quick message like this would’ve been better. Can you imagine what they must have been thinking? As well as those working with them? Were they next? (Of course, if you need a room for privacy because of the nature of the feedback, please use common sense.)
– It’s polite and professional.
– It allows autonomy on the part of the recipient. You’re not telling them how to do their job.
– What you’re asking is likely aligned to a KPI or agreed outcome.

What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree?

How do you successfully deliver feedback?

Note: Is Asking really rhetorical? Actually, no! If you ask the question, the recipient has the right to decline. And we need to respect that. This reinforces why a good relationship is so important. Keep in mind when people are offered feedback, generally, their automatic response is, ”this can’t be good!” So the chance are they’ll be defensive at first. If this is the case, start by offering good feedback for a while. We need to be doing that anyway. Look for things people do well as often as possible. Make sure you comment on that.