Most feedback makes performance worse
To give feedback that improves performance, focus on the task rather than the person, be specific enough to act on, and point it toward next time. In Kluger and DeNisi's 1996 review of 607 findings, feedback helped on average, but more than a third of feedback efforts made performance worse, often because they shifted attention onto the person instead of the work.
Okay, I'll admit the title is a little dramatic. Let me give you the precise version, which is still pretty startling:
In one of the biggest reviews ever done on feedback, more than a third of feedback efforts made performance worse.
Not "didn't help." Made it worse. If you've ever given someone on your team what you thought was helpful feedback and then watched their work get worse, you're not imagining it. And there's a reason.
The review nobody wanted to hear
In 1996, psychologists Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi published a massive analysis of feedback research going back to the early 1900s. They gathered 607 separate findings from studies involving more than 23,000 observations.
On average, feedback did help. That part's reassuring. But when they looked closer, over a third of the feedback efforts decreased performance. And that couldn't be explained away by chance or by whether the feedback was positive or negative.
Something about how the feedback was given was backfiring.
Where feedback goes wrong
Kluger and DeNisi's explanation comes down to attention. Feedback changes what the person is thinking about. And there are roughly three places their attention can go:
The task itself. How to do it better. What to change. The details of the work.
Their motivation. Whether to try harder.
Themselves. Their abilities, their worth, their standing with you.
Feedback that keeps attention on the task tends to help. Feedback that pulls attention onto the self tends to hurt.
Think about the difference:
"The intro on this proposal runs long. Try cutting it to two sentences and leading with the client's problem." That's about the task.
"You're just not a strong writer." That's about the self.
The second one doesn't give the person anything to do. It gives them something to worry about. And a worried mind has less attention left for the actual work.
Even praise can backfire this way. "You're so talented!" is about the self. "The way you handled that client's objection was perfect: you acknowledged the concern and then showed the numbers" is about the task. It also tells them exactly what to repeat.
In a small business, feedback often happens on the fly. You're busy, you notice something off, and you say something quick in passing.
Quick feedback tends to be vague. And vague feedback tends to land on the self, because the person has to guess what you meant, and the easiest guess is they're not happy with me.
How to give feedback that actually helps
1. Point at the work, not the person. Describe what happened and what should change. Leave character judgments out, including positive ones.
2. Be specific enough to act on. If they can't tell exactly what to do differently tomorrow, the feedback isn't done.
3. Focus on the next time. "Next time, try..." keeps attention on improvement. Replaying everything that went wrong keeps attention on the failure.
4. Make it about the goal. Connect the feedback to what you're both trying to achieve. "Clients decide in the first few lines, so let's lead with their problem" explains the why and makes it about the shared goal, not your preference.
5. Ask before you tell. "How do you think that went?" often gets them to the key point themselves. People act more on insights they reach on their own.
6. Praise the specific behavior. When something goes well, name exactly what they did. That's the version of praise that builds skill.
Feedback is a skill, not a reflex
Most of us give feedback the way we received it, often from bosses who were also winging it. But the research is clear that how you give feedback matters as much as whether you give it.
Keep it about the work. Make it specific. Point it forward.
Your team wants to do a good job. Give them feedback that helps them do it.
If you're struggling to get the performance you need from your team, let's talk about how you're communicating. Small changes often make a big difference.
Study to link: Kluger & DeNisi (1996)
Frequently asked questions
Can feedback make performance worse?
Yes. A 1996 meta-analysis by Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi found that while feedback improved performance on average, over a third of feedback interventions decreased it.
What makes feedback backfire?
Feedback tends to backfire when it pulls attention onto the person, such as "You're not a strong writer," instead of the task, such as "Cut the intro to two sentences." Vague feedback often lands on the self because people have to guess what you meant.
What does effective employee feedback look like?
It describes the work and what should change, it's specific enough to act on tomorrow, it focuses on next time, and it connects to a shared goal. When praising, name the exact behavior so the person knows what to repeat.
