id: situation-behaviour-impact-feedback
title: Situation-Behaviour-Impact Feedback
description: >-
  A structured feedback method that describes the situation, the observed
  behaviour, and the impact, avoiding labels and character judgements.
  Developed by the Center for Creative Leadership.
source: Center for Creative Leadership
source_url: https://www.ccl.org/
tags: [feedback, workplace, communication]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Describe the situation
    description: >-
      The giver names the specific time and place: "In yesterday's team
      meeting, when we were reviewing the timeline..."
  - headline: Describe the behaviour
    description: >-
      The giver describes what they observed, factually and without
      interpretation: "...you interrupted Sarah three times while she was
      presenting the schedule."
  - headline: Describe the impact
    description: >-
      The giver describes the effect: "...Sarah went quiet and the team
      missed her caveats, which showed up later as a missed dependency."
  - headline: Pause for response
    description: >-
      The giver pauses and invites the receiver's perspective, listening
      before moving to any suggestion.
outcome: >-
  The receiver hears specific, non-judgemental feedback they can act on,
  without feeling attacked as a person.
practice: >-
  If you cannot name the situation and behaviour specifically, you are not
  ready to give the feedback. Avoid the verb "always" and the label "you
  are."