Coach Geno Auriemma on How to Give Constructive Feedback

Luigi “Geno” Auriemma has had one of the most astounding coaching careers in women’s college basketball history. Born in Montella, Italy, Geno started off playing soccer, but when his family moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania when he was seven years old, he fell in love with baseball, which he played throughout high school. In his sophomore year of high school, he decided to join the basketball team as well.

His high school basketball coach, Buddy Gardler, made a lasting impression on Geno. While in college at West Chester University, Geno balanced his classes with coaching a high school girls’ basketball team in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, before going on to serve as an assistant coach and later a head coach for women’s college basketball teams.

With over thirty years of experience in providing constructive feedback and building trust among his players, Geno has learned how to build a winning team.

Constructive feedback delivered in the right way can lead to positive change in an employee’s performance or specific behavior. A productive feedback session is a great way to analyze and correct past performance as well as encourage positive performance in the future. When positive feedback and constructive criticism are delivered effectively, they can boost the morale and operational success of your entire company or unit. When feedback is given poorly, it can have the opposite effect, causing your employees to become disaffected or feel alienated.

If you’re looking to improve your team’s performance, here are a few of Geno’s tips you can follow whenever you’re offering employee feedback during a performance review or a one-on-one meeting:

• Know your team. If you know the members of your team, it’s easier to provide better feedback. “If you want to be honest and truthful [with your] people that you work with, one, make sure you know them,” Geno says. “They know you… [That way] they know it’s coming from a good place. And that they know the only reason they would say this to me is ‘cause they want me to be better.”
• Focus on the issue. As you’re walking a team member through an issue, keep the conversation focused on areas of improvement and opportunity rather than focusing on the ways they misstepped. “The idea is to be critical of someone’s actions without them thinking you’re being critical of them as a person,” he says.
• Be sincere and compassionate. Whether you’re giving positive comments or negative criticism, effective feedback must be earnest. Pay attention to your tone of voice and body language, and strive for wording that indicates your compassion and empathy. “I think the number one thing you can do with a player, an employee… is say to them, ‘I understand,’” Geno says. “Sometimes that’s all you have to say, ‘Listen, I understand what you’re going through. I understand why this is hard. I understand what a struggle it is. I can see you’re frustrated.’ Acknowledge it, and then [say], ‘Here’s how I can help.’”

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