Presented by: Sara Stephan, Basma Osman

1. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Focus Feedback Workshop Abstract
• In this workshop, Basma and Sara will recommend effective ways to give and receive
feedback. Constructive feedback techniques for personal development as well as
recognition/praise techniques will be demonstrated. Attendees will have the
opportunity to break out into pairs or groups to practice these new skills via role
playing.
• The objective of this workshop is to equip attendees with tools and confidence to
speak up and give their opinion to peers and leadership in a productive manner.
• We would like a room conducive to breaking out into small groups of 5 or pairs. We
only plan to use PowerPoint for the first 20 minutes, then we'll have everyone practice
the described focus feedback techniques and discuss as a large group what they
learned during the role playing.
• Kimberly-Clark has implemented a new focused recognition program and also
encourages employees to be upfront with each other (in both negative and positive
scenarios). Sara and Basma are young female engineers who have only been
at Kimberly-Clark for 2 years and have had and continue to have experiences with
focus feedback everyday. They feel that sharing their experiences and the technique
Kimberly-Clark is encouraging its employees to use is valuable to any engineer

2. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Leading the world in
essentials for a better life.
Leading the world in
essentials for a better life.
Focused
Feedback
Basma Osman & Sara Stephan
SWE National Conference 2012
November 8, 2012

3. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Basma Osman and Sara Stephan
Graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology
Co-oped at Kimberly-Clark (K-C)
Started working full-time at K-C in summer 2012
Active members of K-C’s New Employee Opportunity Network
Recruiters for K-C at Georgia Tech
Active in Atlanta’s section of Society of Women Engineers

4. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Who here has had issues with someone?
Outcome/Results?
Tools to achieve desired outcome because everyone is
accountable for the end result
Why learn how to give feedback?

5. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
What’s accountability?
Dictionary definition:
Subject to having to report, explain or justify;
responsible; answerable
Why be accountable?
Only when you assume full accountability for your thoughts,
feelings, actions, and results can you direct your own
destiny; otherwise, someone or something else will. – The Oz
principle

6. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Encouraging a Culture of Accountability
• Focused Feedback
 Civil, honest, direct, specific, continuous, both affirmative & constructive
• Recognition
 Work ethics, company values, courage, innovation, accomplishments,
both small & large
• Story telling
 Sharing successes & failures, learning opportunities, celebration
Everyone should be involved in the feedback process: Subordinates,
Peers, and Leadership

7. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Constructive Focused Feedback
• The sooner the better….however, thinking about how to best deliver
such feedback can help you make it more effective
• Better to do one on one
• Start by asking for feedback for yourself
• Listen, listen, listen!!!!
• Give feedback
• Determine best way to communicate with each individual
• Check & adjust, recognize improvements
• Keep emotions out of discussion and to a minimum
• Good and bad example of constructive feedback
• Plus delta sessions are a great way to request Focused feedback

8. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Positive Focused Feedback
• The sooner the better
• One on One, groups, or with leadership
• Determine best way to communicate with each
individual
• Recognize improvements
• Good and bad example of positive feedback
• Recognize the good and not just the bad
• How?
•In person
•E-mail to manager and CC them
•Recogintion cards

9. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
K-C’s Tool for Positive Feedback and
Recognition

10. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Scenario A
Dan (Walks past Elise huffing and sets up to start work)
Elise (Approaches Dan in front of group)
Dan: I need to be left alone right now.
Elise: What are you upset about?
Dan: I’m very stressed right now and can’t handle this discussion.
Elise: We’re engineers, we need to confront situations and complete our work.
Dan: I understand that, but the team had agreed that we were going to give the trial
one last shot and start wrapping things up, but ….
Elise: Sometimes you have to work late to get things done.
Dan: (Raises voice) I know that, but you can’t expect us to work here 12-15 hours
everyday for months and expect everyone to be ok with it. We didn’t accomplish
anything in those extra hours yesterday. And I’m stressed from all the other
personal stuff going on and I don’t have time to handle it.
Elise: Calm down. What’s really bugging you…
Dan: I told you, you need to leave me alone and I’m very upset.
Elise: We just have to get through this.
Dan walks out on team.

11. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Scenario B
Michael was frustrated because Jonathan hasn’t
submitted an important document with a specified
deadline. Moreover, Michael received no responses from
Jonathan asking about the document for 3 days straight.
Out of frustration, Michael sent a note to Jonathan and
copied both his and Jonathan’s boss expressing his
disappointment and frustration at Jonathan’s inadequacy
and not responding to his multiple emails and taking
ownership of his delay to the project. Shortly after Michael
sent the email, he received a one-line and has been there
for over a week”.

12. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Your turn to try out your new tools and skills!
• Prepare for a one on one discussion to provide
constructive feedback to someone you are currently
working with on anything (school project, work,
extracurriculars , etc), so that you can approach
them with this and have an impactful discussion that
will change his/her actions, or yours, in the future.
• Prepare a recognition card for someone that has
shown outstanding leadership, initiative, or creativity
in a situation at school, work, or an extracurricular
organization that you can give to them and share
with the team.

13. Leading the world in essentials for a better life.
Questions?