How to Give Feedback That Actually Leads to Change
By Shawn Hamilton, M.S., DBA(c) Shawn Hamilton is a leading sales leadership advisor and doctoral researcher at the University of Houston, specializing in Sales Leadership.
How to Give Feedback That Actually Leads to Change
Ask any sales leader about their "feedback culture," and they'll proudly say, "I have an open-door policy."
In reality, this "open door" is rarely used. When it is, the feedback delivered is often useless. It sounds like this:
"You need to be more strategic in your accounts."
"I need you to have more of a 'hunter' mentality."
"Just be more confident on your calls."
This is the feedback of a frustrated leader, not an effective coach. It's vague, identity-based, and impossible to act on. How does a rep do "be more strategic"?
The problem is that most leaders treat feedback as a monologue. They provide a judgment and expect the employee to magically translate it into action.
Research from top management journals on feedback efficacy shows this approach fails. Effective feedback isn't a judgment; it's a collaborative process designed to change future behavior, not to critique the past. Frameworks like "Radical Candor" have gained popularity by rightly pointing out that feedback requires both care and directness.
But to make feedback stick, we must go one step further. We need to replace vague "identity" feedback with actionable "behavioral" feedback.
Why "Be More Strategic" Fails
When you tell a rep to "be more strategic," you're not giving them a map; you're just telling them they're in the wrong place. Their brain immediately goes into defense mode, and the conversation becomes a justification, not a coaching session.
A study published in the Academy of Management Journal (Dahling & O'Malley, 2011) highlights that the quality and utility of feedback are far more important than the frequency. Employees respond to feedback they can actually use.
Useful feedback is not about who the person is ("You're not strategic"). It's about what the person did ("I noticed in the pipeline review, you...") and what they can do next ("In the future, try this...").
Actionable Takeaways: A 3-Step Framework for Feedback That Changes Behavior
Stop giving "identity" feedback. Start using this simple, behavior-focused framework.
The Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) Model. Never start feedback with the word "You." Start with the specific, objective observation.
Bad Feedback: "You were way too aggressive on that demo."
Good Feedback: "In the (S)ituation of the call with Acme today, I noticed the (B)ehavior of interrupting the customer three times. The (I)mpact was that they shut down and stopped asking questions."
Move from Past to Future. The SBI model diagnoses the past. It's useless unless you immediately pivot to the future. Ask a question, don't just give a command.
Bad Feedback: "Don't interrupt them next time."
Good Feedback: "On the next call, how can we make sure we're hearing their full objection before we jump in?"
Make It a "Feedforward" Habit. Feedback shouldn't be a scary, high-stakes annual review. The best leaders make it a low-stakes, daily habit. Use "feedforward" for small course corrections.
Example: "Great call. One thing to try next time is asking one more 'why' question after they give you the first price objection. Let's see what happens."
Stop judging your team and start coaching their behaviors. That is the only way to build a team that isn't just doing their job, but actively getting better at it.
References
Dahling, J. J., & O'Malley, A. L. (2011). Supportive feedback environments can mend broken performance management systems. Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(2), 6-27.
