5 Examples of How to Give Feedback on Strengths and Weaknesses
When it comes to 360 degree feedback, gathering the intel is the easy part. What’s much harder is sharing that feedback with the team members—especially when it’s negative feedback. How do you do it in a way that is helpful, not hurtful? How do you make sure the criticism is, well, constructive? Below are five examples of how to give feedback on both strengths and weaknesses.
1. Communication skills
“Jeremiah, I appreciate how strong you are as a communicator. When you make presentations, your use of metaphors and stories really grab your audience. People seem very engaged and interested in what you have to say. In my mind, that’s half the battle!
One of the things you might consider focusing on is spending a little bit more time listening to others and asking questions. It might be helpful to get a better understanding of what another person is experiencing or saying before sharing your own perspective. Asking a good question is sometimes more valuable than giving a good answer.”
2. Leadership
“Elena, one of your strengths as a leader is that your direct reports really enjoy working for you. Staff meetings seem to be playful and enjoyable, which is not always the case. When team members enjoy spending time together, people tend to be more engaged and motivated.
I think one of the things you might consider working on is adding a bit more structure to your projects. It might be helpful to use some tools like Trello or Slack to make sure everybody is on board with the project. It might also be helpful to hold people more closely accountable to deadlines and individual responsibilities. When communication and accountability is lacking, people can slack off.”
3. Teamwork/Interpersonal skills
“Terry, you’re always good at delivering results. You know how to get the job done and done right. Whenever I have a mission or critical task that needs to get done, I always think of you because I know you’ll meet my expectations and get the job done on time.
While you’re good at delivering results, sometimes you run over others in the process. You can be so focused on a task or deadline that you sometimes become insensitive and demanding towards others. While you get the job done in the short term, I’m afraid you might be causing some problems in the long term because people may not want to work with you in the future.”
4. Adaptability
“Charlane, companies will only survive in the long term if they can adapt and figure out new ways of achieving results. That’s one of the things I appreciate about you. You’re always thinking of new ways to achieve superior results. You never rest on your laurels and you’re always thinking about how to improve yourself as an individual and us as a company.
While your ability to adapt and change is admirable, sometimes people need a little bit more stability and predictability in their jobs. If they feel like their work is never good enough, they can get discouraged. So it’s important to encourage others and show them how much you appreciate them even while at the same time challenging them to work harder and go farther.”
5. Problem Solving/Creativity
“Eric, I appreciate your diligence to solve problems once you discover them. You’re great at jumping in and taking care of issues once they appear. I appreciate your commitment to customer service.
One thing I’d like you to work on is figuring out why certain problems seems to be happening time and time again. I think you might need to dig in a little deeper and come up with some solutions that address the problems before they even begin.”
Need more 360 degree feedback strengths and weaknesses examples? When you choose G360 Surveys for your 360 degree feedback system, you also receive easy-to-read feedback reports that help you identify strengths and weaknesses and provide a template for communicating and addressing them.
