Have you ever gotten feedback that started with “I have been told that you ….”
How did you feel? Possibly you asked yourself “Well, how valuable is such feedback?”
You can do better – here is how to own your Feedback with SBIN or SPIT.

~ 3 minutes read

SBIN & SPIT

SBIN and SPIT [1] are templates that help to structure feedback. This structure helped me to focus on the key information my feedback is about. In particular in tough conversations I appreciated this structure. Also these templates guide to objectify feedback.

Let’s look into SBIN and SPIT details. Both terms are acronyms:

SBIN

Situation – describe the situation you want to give feedback about
Behaviour – talk about the behaviour you observed
Impact – highlight the impact the behaviour on you
Next steps – propose next steps how to improve for next time

I learned over time that ending the feedback with next steps makes the feedback actionable for the feedback receiver. Therefore, N is added as Next steps to the existing SBI [2] definition.
Please note: you can also find (slightly) different definitions of SBIN [3].

SPIT

Specific — Be specific and crystal clear in the feedback you’re giving.
Positive — Be positive and focus on changing for better in the future.
Intention — Why would you give the feedback? Focus on what you’d like to achieve with the feedback
Time — Choose the timing wisely. Make sure there is enough time to talk about the feedback and it is timely

SBIN preference

I prefer SBIN because the impact and the proposed next steps are powerful tools to make the feedback motivating. However you can also cherry pick items from SBIN and SPIT that work for you. The Positive item of SPIT can be a great addition to SBIN.

Own your Feedback

Tools like SBIN or SPIT equipe you well to provide high quality feedback. However, how can you avoid providing others feedback especially if you can’t be part of every situation and every meeting?

Observe the organization and synthesize themes and shifts of behaviour you observe. Make sure it’s your observation as the first step of owning the feedback. The subsequent and necessary second step is to derive outcomes of your observations into outcomes that have impact into the organization. Once you noticed outcomes and turned it into impact, you can use it with SBIN, because the third part of SBIN is impact. Make sure you can propose next steps atop of the impact.

As a lead or supervisor you have expectations towards roles. Make sure the business goals and your expectations are well understood. With that in place, connect your feedback to business goals and your expectations.

Providing feedback is challenging. Tone of voice, body language, timing and more factors influence how well received the feedback is. Also, expect emotional reactions – prepare yourself with being honest and create passion about the feedback you are giving to make it as motivating as possible.

Links

Klaus Entenmann – thanks for your review, proposals and comments

Own your Feedback with SBIN or SPIT