New Manager Essentials • Module 01
Most managers avoid feedback conversations until they become performance problems. This module builds the skill of delivering feedback that is specific, timely, and behavior-focused, so your team hears coaching, not criticism.
Section 1 of 4 — Foundation
Most new managers conflate feedback with performance reviews. That confusion leads to avoidance, because nobody wants to "evaluate" a colleague at 2pm on a Tuesday. The distinction matters.
Ongoing, informal, in the moment. Focused on a specific behavior and its impact. The goal is course-correction or reinforcement, not judgment. It sounds like: "When you did X in the meeting, the impact was Y."
Periodic, formal, summative. Looks at performance over time against established criteria. Tied to compensation, promotion, or development plans. It sounds like: "Over this quarter, your performance in X has been..."
Tells someone what they did well and why it mattered. This is not "good job." It is specific: "The way you summarized action items at the end of the meeting saved us a follow-up email." Reinforcement increases the behavior.
Addresses a behavior that is not working without attacking the person. The framing matters: "Here is what I observed, here is the impact, and here is what I would suggest instead." The goal is redirection, not shame.
Section 2 of 4 — The Model
Situation, Behavior, Impact. Three components delivered in sequence. This model removes opinion and keeps feedback grounded in what actually happened.
Anchor the feedback to a specific time and place. "In this morning's standup..." or "During your client call on Tuesday..." This prevents the conversation from drifting into generalizations like "you always" or "you never."
Describe the observable action, not your interpretation of it. "You interrupted the client twice" is a behavior. "You were being disrespectful" is a judgment. Stick to what a camera would have captured.
Explain the consequence of the behavior on the team, the project, or the customer. "The client paused and did not finish their point, and we lost the thread of what they needed." Impact is what makes the feedback matter.
Redirecting example: "During this morning's standup [S], you shared a project update that was about eight minutes long [B]. A few people started checking their laptops, and we ran over by ten minutes, which pushed back two other meetings [I]."
Reinforcing example: "In the client debrief yesterday [S], you summarized the three key takeaways before anyone left the room [B]. That meant the whole team walked away aligned, and we did not need a follow-up email [I]."
Section 3 of 4 — Practice
Scenario Context
Jordan, a member of your team, missed a project milestone for the second time this month. The delay pushed back the client delivery by two days. Another team member had to pick up the slack over the weekend. You need to have a feedback conversation. Jordan is generally a strong performer. This is recent.
How do you open the conversation?
Strong approach
You anchored to a specific situation, named the observable behavior, and described the impact. Then you invited Jordan's perspective. This is SBI followed by a coaching question.
Partially effective
You are being kind, which matters, but the softening dilutes the message, and "the team's been feeling the impact" is vague. Specificity is what makes feedback actionable.
Ineffective approach
"More reliable" is a character judgment, not a behavior. And "second deadline" generalizes without anchoring to a specific event. Jordan is likely to feel attacked rather than coached.
Section 4 of 4 — Knowledge Check
Answer 3 of 4 correctly to complete this module.
Question 1 of 4
Which of the following is an example of the "Behavior" component in SBI?
Question 2 of 4
What is the primary difference between feedback and evaluation?
Question 3 of 4
A team member consistently arrives 5-10 minutes late to standup. Using SBI, which opening is most effective?
Question 4 of 4
When delivering redirecting feedback, why is it important to end with a question?
Designer's Note — Instructional Rationale
This module uses scenario-based practice rather than information delivery because feedback is a performance skill. You learn it by doing it, not reading about it.
The two-part Jordan scenario shows how opening moves create cascading effects. A poor opening shuts down dialogue; a strong one enables root-cause discovery.
SBI was chosen because it is simple enough to retrieve under pressure. Three components, practiced in sequence, with contextual examples builds procedural knowledge that transfers.