It’s the end of September, and Houston’s still sitting in the 90s for daytime highs. The season changed on paper, but the air didn’t move.
That raises a question: Are you still running your leadership thermostat at the same setting in a different season, waiting for outcomes to shift?
Last month I wrote about the thermostat — how leaders don’t just cast vision or run the strategy; they set the temperature everyone else uses to calibrate their behavior. One way to reset that temperature is through feedback conversations grounded in the Situation-Behavior-Impact feedback framework. And nothing changes the temperature in your team without intentional leadership.
Meaningful feedback conversations should happen throughout the year, but leaders sometimes default to a once-a-year performance-review discussion.
Why?
No time. Prefer to avoid conflict. Trust team members to self-correct. Not comfortable giving feedback. Have no workable feedback framework.
If you relate to any of the reasons above, here’s a framework to overcome these constraints and reset the team’s temperature.
The Tool That’s Available But Seldom Used — Effectively
Situation-Behavior-Impact (“SBI”). Most leaders have heard of it. Few use it, and even fewer embrace its discipline.
Whether delivering reinforcement or constructive feedback, SBI is the framework for facilitating performance conversations that deliver honest, specific, fair, and actionable insights. Without SBI, well-intended performance conversations, even with rising stars, often land as vague and challenging to translate into change or reinforced behavior.
SBI At-a-Glance
The SBI approach describes past or current performance, keeps feedback factual, limits personal bias, and explains the why behind the feedback.
- Situation. Describe the specific context– such as the time, task, or project – rather than communicating vague generalizations.
- Behavior. State the observable actions, not interpretations or judgments.
- Impact. Explain the result of the behavior on the team, organization, or the goals, making it clear why the behavior matters.
SBI in Action
Scenario. Morgan, an experienced manager, has been quietly frustrated with a direct report’s communication style since early in the year, but never said anything, not in their one-on-ones or the team meeting where it actually showed up. Now it’s fourth quarter, the review is due, and months of unspoken frustration are on the brink of being documented in the performance review.
An SBI statement in the performance review might read like this:
During the On Call meeting, when you spoke over two team members and interrupted the client once, it undermined the sense that we operate as a collaborative team. And this has been an ongoing issue since Q1.
If feedback were given in the moment, the coaching conversation could start as follows:
In today’s meeting, when you interrupted the client and spoke over two team members, it may have signaled to them that we don’t value collaborative input. Can we talk about what was going on for you in that moment?
Whether delivering feedback immediately or documenting it in a performance review, SBI works because it separates what happened from assumptions. It forces specificity instead of character judgment.
Used well all year, SBI is how you build a growth-coaching environment: frequent, specific, and low-stakes enough that team members can actually self-manage, adjust, and actively contribute at the targeted level.
A Closing Thought
You are the thermostat. SBI is one tool that lets you change the thermostat setting instead of just enforcing it. It works as a discipline, practiced year-round to provide reinforcement and constructive feedback.
Leadership was never just about casting vision, formulating strategy, or mobilizing people. It’s about attending to the people who choose to follow you.
This is Part 2 of a series on leadership and workplace climate. Read Part 1: “You are the Thermostat” here.
Lillian Davenport, SPHR, SHRM – SCP, MGSCC, Principal, End View LeadershipSM
