A lightweight approach for constructive positive feedback

Hi Reader

You know that moment when someone on your team does something great — you say ‘Good job!’ - and everyone moves along?

Perhaps it feels awkward to labour the point, but positive feedback is not (just) about making employees feel good — it’s a mentoring opportunity, and part of how we build leadership in the team.

There is plenty of advice out there for giving negative feedback — it sometimes seems all feedback advice is aimed at breaking the bad news.

So what is positive feedback - beyond ‘Good job’ ?

Here’s a simple structure that’s easy to remember:

It’s a subtle shift from standard feedback frameworks such as Situation - Behaviour - Impact: to why the behaviour fits the situation, and what it enables.

In conversation, there are three elements to it:

1. Frame the good clearly​
“You handled the situation well” is a start — but doesn’t clarify why.

Let’s use a workplace miscommunication example:

• “You noticed there had been a miscommunication, and asking for more clarity worked well for everyone. Neither the person who thought they were clear, nor the people who misunderstood, felt threatened.”

2. Create context​
Every action exists in context. We can feel confident about our actions when we see them in relation to possible alternatives.

• “It would have been fair to say ‘there is a misunderstanding’ — but it could have generated a defensive response, taking the attention away from the detail we needed to discuss. If you hadn’t raised it, we’d likely have had a lot of rework. Instead we have more details from the discussion, and real alignment. It gives us confidence we are on the right track.”

3. Include the broader impact
​When we can see the broader impact of our actions, it gives us a picture of how to apply them beyond the current scenario — and goals to pursue:

• “Being able to raise a concern in a way that gets everyone on board saves many hours of crossed wires and waste. And it also serves as an example for the team, so that anyone can feel comfortable asking for clarity.”

This lightweight approach provides a way to have an ‘in the moment’ conversation, supporting continuous feedback rather than waiting for the next performance review.

When ‘feedback’ is just an opinion or approval, there isn’t much our team members can act on, and it can feel insincere. Genuinely positive feedback creates clarity, and brings attention to the impact each of us can make, in small ways every day.

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Cara Turner Innovation & Agile Coach M: +27 84 500 4425 ​E: coach@caraturner.com | www.caraturner.com​

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