Concept
Immediate feedback
Immediate feedback is Kim Scott's rule for how criticism and praise land: the same day, specific, about the work and its effect rather than the person, praise in public and criticism in private. The test of whether it worked is whether it changed what the person did next.
A correction three weeks late is about a person; the same afternoon it is about a thing that just happened, which is why the delay turns a small adjustment into a character judgement. Scott's rules are short. Praise in public, naming exactly what was good, because that tells someone what to do more of and most managers ration it. Criticism in private, naming the behaviour and its effect: not 'be more careful', but the two numbers that were wrong and what they cost. Humble, because you may be wrong; helpful, because the point is next time. Then close the loop: say what you expect to see, agree how you will both know, and notice out loud when it happens. Feedback that was heard, nodded at and forgotten was a conversation, not feedback.
A real-life example
The manager of a call-centre team in Malatya used to save her comments for the monthly review, which everyone dreaded. She starts giving them the same day: a specific word of praise in the team chat when a difficult call is handled well, and a five-minute private conversation when a script step is skipped. Within a month her agents, who used to avoid the reviews, start asking her how a call went.
How to use it
- 1Give the correction the same day, in private, about the work and its effect.
- 2Give praise in public and name exactly what was good.
- 3Close the loop: say what you expect, agree how you will both know, and notice the change out loud.