SBI & STAR Feedback Models

Feedback shouldn’t feel like a performance. It should feel like two adults talking about work. SBI and STAR make that easier. Both give you a short, fair way to say what happened, why it mattered, and what to do next. No drama. No mystery frameworks. Just language that helps people improve without walking on eggshells.

Use this as a working guide you can keep open during one to ones. You’ll see what SBI is, what STAR is, where each works best, and the exact lines you can say tomorrow. You’ll also see how to fit feedback into your weekly rhythm so it supports outcomes rather than becoming an awkward monthly event.

SBI in plain English

SBI stands for Situation – Behaviour – Impact. You name when and where, you name what the person did in observable terms, and you name the effect on the team, customer or work. Then you ask for their view and agree what happens next. The strength of SBI is that it removes guesswork and labels. No “always”, no “never”, no comments about personality. Just what happened and why it mattered.

Here’s a clean corrective version you can lift:

"In yesterday’s customer call (Situation) you interrupted Priya three times while she was explaining the change (Behaviour). The client became confused and we spent ten extra minutes clarifying (Impact). What was going on for you, and what will you try next time"

Here’s a positive version that reinforces what you want more of:

"In the 10am handover today (Situation) you summarised decisions in one line and named the owner and date (Behaviour). We left with no open questions and started on time (Impact). Keep doing that, and next time post the note in the channel so nights can copy it."

Notice the tone. Specific, short and fair. Ask for context, then agree a next step you can see in the work.

STAR in plain English

STAR stands for Situation – Task – Action – Result. You set the scene, name the task that was owned, describe the action taken, and point to the result. STAR works best when you’re coaching someone to describe their contribution clearly, when you’re reinforcing a good pattern, or when you’re unpacking a messy outcome without blame.

A positive STAR you can use as recognition that teaches:

Situation: Last week’s release with two high-risk fixes.

Task: Keep recovery under five minutes if anything broke.

Action: You wrote the rollback script and rehearsed it with Ops on Tuesday.

Result: When the auth check failed, you rolled back in two minutes and we avoided an incident.

A corrective STAR that focuses on learning rather than theatre:

Situation: The Q3 client update.

Task: Publish by Thursday with Ops sign-off.

Action: You drafted the note but didn’t book the sign-off slot.

Result: We slipped to Monday and Support fielded avoidable queries. Next time, book the sign-off when you start the draft. Let’s add that step to your one-sentence goal.

STAR lets people see the chain from intention to outcome. It turns “I worked hard” into “here’s what I did and what it produced.”

SBI vs STAR — which to reach for and when

If you need to name a moment quickly and land a behaviour change, use SBI. It’s your “same day, two-minute” tool. If you want to unpack a piece of work end-to-end, teach ownership, or capture a crisp example for others to copy, use STAR. It’s your “teach the pattern” tool.

In practice many managers blend them. SBI to make the point, STAR to help someone retell the story in a way that builds judgement.

The anatomy of a good line

Two things make feedback land. Evidence and next steps. Evidence means you describe what happened using things an adult could see or check. Next steps means you agree what will change, by when, and how you’ll know. Keep both inside the week where you can. That’s how you turn a comment into better work.

If you ever feel the conversation drifting, ask one question: “What will you show me on Wednesday so we know it’s on track” It’s calm, it’s fair, and it pulls you back to evidence.

Lines you can say tomorrow (ready to copy)

Corrective SBI with a calm tone:

“In this morning’s stand-up (Situation), you said the ticket was ‘nearly done’ but couldn’t point to a draft (Behaviour). We couldn’t unblock Ops and the task rolled again (Impact). What’s the blocker, and what can you show me by Wednesday?”

Positive SBI that teaches, not just praises:

“During the onboarding walkthrough (Situation), you used one-sentence goals with evidence (Behaviour). New starters knew exactly what to deliver this week (Impact). Keep doing that and post your template so others can copy it.”

Corrective STAR that closes the loop:

Month-end reconciliation. (Situation)

Publish the draft pack by Wednesday. (Task)

You waited for two late inputs rather than publishing the draft and adding a note. (Action)

The review started two days late. Next month, publish the draft on Wednesday regardless and mark the two items as pending. I’ll check the draft at 4pm. (Result)

Positive STAR you can read out in a team channel:

Customer change requests last week. (Situation)

Cut decision time to under three days. (Task)

You opened meetings with the decision, options A/B and your lean. (Action)

Average time dropped to two days. Please share the opener you used. (Result)

You’ll notice the verbs do the heavy lifting. Said, posted, booked, drafted, published, rolled back. Avoid “support”, “review” and “help” unless you can point to what changed as a result.

Make it part of the weekly rhythm

Feedback works best in small, fast loops. On Monday, set one clear goal per person in a single line with evidence. Mid-week, ask for a tiny “show me”. On Friday, close the promise as done or not done, and if it slipped, agree the new date in the same place. Use SBI to address moments as they occur. Use STAR on Friday to teach the pattern behind a good outcome or to unpack a miss without heat. This rhythm keeps feedback close to real work and makes it routine rather than rare.

The words do not change with location. What changes is how you keep focus on the outcome. In remote settings, post the one-sentence goal and the mid-week proof where the team already works so you are not hunting through threads. In person, bring it into the room and keep the conversation short. For shifts, tie feedback to handover points so it feels natural rather than like another meeting.

Handling pushback without turning it into a debate

People push back for three reasons: they don’t agree with the facts, they feel the impact is being overstated, or they worry about fairness. Stay with the structure. If the facts are in dispute, open the document, the ticket or the calendar and look together. If the impact feels exaggerated, connect it to a customer or to a delay others can recognise. If fairness is the worry, point to the team standard and the shared template so it’s clear everyone plays by the same rules.

Common traps and how to sidestep them

The first trap is waiting. Feedback ages badly. Give it within a few days while the work is still fresh and the fix is cheap. The second trap is going vague. If you can’t name the situation and behaviour, you’re about to judge, not coach. The third is flooding someone with five points at once. Pick one thing that will move quality the most and land that calmly. Then stop. Adults do better with clear next steps than with long sermons.

Another quiet trap is letting praise become personality talk. “You’re a star” feels nice but teaches nothing. Tie praise to behaviour and result so it spreads. That’s how you grow consistency rather than favourites.

When it needs to escalate

The routine above is for everyday performance. If the same gap repeats after two or three cycles and you’ve removed obvious blockers, bring HR in and follow your policy. The structure doesn’t change just because the stakes rise. You still name the situation, behaviour and impact, or the situation, task, action and result. You still ask for context and agree next steps with dates. The difference is that the record moves into your formal process.

Keeping light notes as you go with the weekly goal, the mid-week proof, the Friday outcome as this means you’re never building a file from memory. It protects everyone.

Teaching your team to use the models

You don’t need a workshop. Share a one-page aide-mémoire with a few before/after lines like the ones in this post. Model it in your own one to ones. Thank the first person who gives you useful feedback, then show exactly why it helped. People copy what they see more than what they hear described.