To make feedback better

I really like feedback, both providing and receiving, which I think is a critical element of a confrontation between professionals. I always try to provide feedback that surprises and impresses, though it's not easy. The followings are what I keep in mind to make feedback as good as possible.

(i) Structured

The most important thing is that the feedback must be well-structured. Some people often tend to provide feedback just the moment it comes to their mind, but personally, I think it is necessary to take at least 30 minutes to organize your thoughts before providing feedback. The point is to first write down thoroughly and objectively what the facts are. Then, think about the implications of those facts. If you are working in a professional firm, there must be a document that defines its "ideal state," such as its corporate philosophy or evaluation criteria. It is important to determine whether the facts are good or bad, sufficient or insufficient, in light of these documents. Without this process, it would be difficult to provide meaningful feedback for professionals who are keen on developing their skills.

(ii) Insightful

If you'd like to provide valuable feedback, the feedback should contain a deeper insight. Otherwise, the feedback would be something not special and is relatively worthless (although, of course, the point might be significant). There are many ways to generate deeper insights, one of which is to highlight "facts" that the receiver thinks are not important, but actually have important "implications" to the team. Something that makes the receiver "wow," such as a situation where small action that seems marginal to the person but contributes greatly to the team. Conversely, something that the reveiver thought was positive may actually have a negative connotation when viewed in the light of the evaluation criteria in, leading to deeper insights.

(iii) Development-oriented

The quality of feedback depends on the level of clarity of the final suggested action to be taken. Particularly when you provide feedback with  junior staff, the feedback shouldn't be "Okay, I understand what you are saying, but what exactly do I need to do?". Probably it might be super challenging for the staff to overcome the difficulties with such a low quality feedback. Therefore, it is important to write out and communicate what needs to be done at the "To-Do" level. Of course, there might be times when making feedback actionable is tough, but taking a stance on what should be done is essential for quality feedback.

Honestly, it is difficult to provide this kind of feedback to every member of the team every week or every project. Keeping enough time to think about valuable feedback is sometimes not realistic as we work hard day in and day out. There are times when we are not confident that the implications we derive from various facts are really correct.
But still, when working with professionals, there are moments when your heart can't help but be moved. Those moments are the source of quality feedback, I believe.

I just can't stop providing feedback.