How good are you at providing feedback?

The former World #1 Test batsman and World T20 winning coach, Andy Flower is great at delivering clear feedback to his players and support staff.

Andy introduced me to the term “Fairly Honest” Feedback in 2009.

Andy told me that you can’t always be totally honest with players because someone could be hurt in that process. However, Flower stressed that you can be fairly honest.

“Fairly honest’” doesn’t mean that you get away from the facts or shy away from the challenge. It simply means rigorous facts and well established opinions are delivered in a human, timely and empathetic way.

I think it is easy to forget what it was like to be a player when you have been coaching for a long time.

In fact, an experience I had right at the end of my playing career has underpinned feedback style almost as significantly.

My feedback experience

Back in 1999 I was still pretending to be a professional cricketer. I had two years left on my contract and could have played another year on top. However, I knew that my future lay in coaching.

After some deliberation, I announced my intention to retire from playing in the cricket office at the old Hampshire County Ground and then headed over for lunch. I sat down and was joined by one of my Hampshire coaches who proceeded to tell me where I fell down as a player and what I could have done to avoid failing as a professional player.

Now I’m sure that this may have hurt some people’s feelings but I was more annoyed.

I hadn’t been told this information at a time when I could have done something about it!

It was great feedback; delivered far too late!

I vowed at that point to ensure players I coached were aware of their strengths, limitations, performance levels and development areas so that they had the option to get better and achieve their goals.

I wanted players to feel empowered; not helpless.

Like I was the day that I called time on my playing career.

Since that day I have believed that you need to be aware before you can improve.

If you’re not aware, then you can’t adapt your behaviour, adjust your bowling action, kick start your batting technique or tweak your mental approach.

Feedback 17 years on

I started working with a very impressive young man a couple of weeks ago. I’m really looking forward to getting to know him and his game over the next couple of years.

After a reasonable County Age Group season, this fella was informed that he had not been selected for a coaching programme that he has been aiming for over a number of years.

This came as a huge shock to him.

Now I’m not close enough to the decision to know if it was a good one. It doesn’t matter what I think anyway.

I will not criticise selections from a distance as I am not armed with the same information of those who make those decisions.

The disappointing thing for me was that the young man didn’t have a clue that this decision was coming.

He had no awareness of how he was performing in relation to the standards and criteria that underpinned the decision making.

He had received no feedback on his batting technique, his performance levels, physicality or fielding ability in relation to the entry levels that were required for selection into one of the extended coaching programmes.

How unfair is that?

Early awareness, particularly when there is a development gap between present levels of performance and the required level, is crucial.

Without it a player is not in control of their destiny.

Going back to ’99

Going back to the feedback that I received: I decided I would do whatever I could to provide the players in my care with feedback. Feedback that gives them control of their decision making and behaviours.

I wanted the players to know exactly where they are in their careers.

It is up to me as a coach to stay connected with the different levels of the game so that I can advise them on the required performance levels and benchmarks so that they can then adapt their effort, focus and behaviours to give themselves their best chance of success.

Is honesty too much?

Some people may think that being “fairly honest” is a little too much.

Some coaches might shy away from being “fairly honest” as they don’t want to hurt a player’s feelings at that point in time.

But surely frustration and pain is far worse?

Frustration that players experience when they are derailed at the end of a feedback-less coaching journey.

How good are you at providing “fairly honest” feedback?

Could “FHF” help your cricketers to reach their goals in the game?