By Liz Radzick of Manifest Consulting

I just helped a friend work on a project and today when it got green-lighted he called me. “I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said with sincere gratitude in his voice. (I’m still glowing from the praise!) Did I appreciate the feedback? Yes.  Am I motivated to help him more? You bet.

Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees states that “While money is important to employees, what tends to motivate them to perform and to perform at higher levels is the thoughtful, personal kind of recognition that signifies true appreciation for a job well done.”

The good news is that giving effective positive feedback is as simple as following what I call the ACE method: Action, Circumstance, and Effect.

1.      Action

First state the specific action that you want to recognize. Two phrases you can use are:

 I heard you say

 I saw you do…(or other appropriate verb)

 e.g. Cathy, I wanted to congratulate you/thank you for a job well done.

I saw you chair the sales meeting yesterday

heard you give your presentation on Tuesday

This may seem obvious but people frequently have busy brains at work and may not immediately understand which situation you are referring to.

 2.      Circumstances/Details

Next go into detail about what the person did SPECIFICALLY that impressed you. Did they take initiative/organize well/demonstrate creativity? The more detail you can show the more you demonstrate that you really paid attention to their effort and the more meaningful the feedback becomes. Go to sites like http://www.quintcareers.com/action_skills.html to help you find descriptive verbs with impact.

e.g. I really liked how you organized the data into the 4 column spreadsheet and integrated the brand colours into the template.

3.      Effect

            Finally, talk about the impact of their actions

            Externally – on the team/company/project  (observable or tangible results)

            Internally -  how it made you personally feel/respond (emotional results)

E.g. Because you took the initiative to design the template, it really made our team stand out at the meeting and Bob, the VP of Sales was very impressed (external). As well, I really appreciated all the extra effort you made and I was grateful that you took charge of the project because it made my life a lot easier (internal).

Delivered sincerely, and in a timely manner this positive feedback will make you both feel good. Hope you enjoyed this article (you can thank me later).