Page 31 - Beginning Principal Booklet

Guides for Giving Constructive Feedback

There are at least eight guidelines worth keeping in mind.
1. Start with strengths. People need encouragement even when they are
doing something well. When you offer feedback, it is best to start with
areas of strength - areas where the individual has demonstrated
effectiveness in using the skills, attributes and knowledge necessary to
meet their needs and guided by those defined in the Key Qualities of the
©
Principalship in Hong Kong .
2. Be specific. Avoid general comments. These are not useful for learning,
or for developing skills. Statements such as “You were brilliant!” or “It
was awful” may be pleasant or dreadful to hear, but they do not give
enough detail to be useful sources of learning. Pinpoint what the person
did which led you to think of using the label “brilliant” or “awful”.

3. Refer only to areas where change is possible. It is not helpful to give a
person feedback about something over which they have little or no
control – such as their physique. “I think some people have difficulty
with your voice, your height etc.” does not give feedback on which
people can act. It would be better to say something like: “I have found
that people can be intimidated when someone is as tall and imposing as
you are. It might help if you smiled more.”
4. Offer suggestions. Feedback should always be offered as a basis for
development. Never simply criticize; suggest what the person could
have done differently and always relate to what they are doing in the
school. Turn the negative into a positive suggestion.
5. Be descriptive rather than evaluative. Tell the person precisely what
you saw or heard and the effect it had on you, rather than merely
something was “good", "bad", etc.

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