A popular tool used in management to provide follow-up information.

On the operational side, Coaching is largely based on providing feedback.  This is why the ability to provide follow-up information is so important in this particular form of supporting development.  In holistic coaching, feedback plays rather a marginal role, as most often we do not see The client in action (while the essence of feedback is referring to observed Behaviour).  Work in coaching is all about enabling a change of perception, and what goes with it – action.  Exceptions from this rule are when we refer to incongruence of Behaviour and content coming from The client, organisational matters as well as – if such an occasion arises– to behaviour which is subject of the client’s work.

There are many ways of providing feedback and each of them has a different level of effectiveness.  What seems to be of key importance here, is informing the client about our intentions of giving a follow-up response and asking for his pe Mission.  In further order of importance it’s worth (if there is such a need) to refer to the context of the behaviour.   What is extremely important is talking about the observed behaviour, but withholding from it’s interpretation (e.g. ‘you have turned away from him’ instead of saying ‘you have behaved rudely’).  Another important observation about feedback, which distinguishes feedback in coaching from feedback in management, is a lack of suggestion (ordering) to change behaviour.  Rather than that, coaches ask Open questions or pause for a moment to encourage the client himself to make a statement.