SBO Feedback (Situation–Behavior–Outcome)
Attack the action, never the person — and always explain the why.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 92%
SBO is Glazer's simple structure for depersonalized feedback: describe the Situation, the Behavior, and the Outcome, then explain why that outcome matters to the person receiving it. The core rule is to criticize the action, never the characteristic — you should never tell someone they are or aren't something, just as in parenting you praise a smart action rather than calling a child smart. He contrasts it directly with the personal attack ('you sound like an idiot') that most people default to. Done well, it gives the person something concrete they can fix and shows the leader is trying to help them.
Origin
Glazer built his feedback training after seeing how much lasting damage vague personal feedback did — he's met people who still carry PTSD years later from being told they 'weren't strategic' or 'weren't funny.' He anchors the method in a real 'ripped from the headlines' case from his own agency involving an employee he calls Jamie.
Core principles
- 01Never tell someone they are or aren't something — critique the action, not the characteristic.
- 02Structure feedback as Situation, Behavior, Outcome.
- 03Explain why the outcome matters for them, not for you.
- 04Depersonalized, specific feedback is fixable; character labels are not.
How to run it
- 1
State the situation
Anchor the feedback in a specific, recent moment — e.g. 'On the client call last week...' — so it's about facts, not a general impression.
Pro tip Cite two or three concrete instances rather than a sweeping 'you always'.
- 2
Describe the behavior
Name the exact thing they did — 'there was an awkward 10-to-20-second pause after the client asked a question' — without interpreting their character.
Watch out Do not slide into labels like 'you're not strategic' or 'you sound like an idiot'.
- 3
Explain the outcome
Say what the behavior caused — 'the client may think you don't know what you're talking about' — and why it matters to them.
Pro tip Frame the why around their interests: losing the sale, people not wanting to work with them.
- 4
Offer a concrete fix
Give them a usable tool — e.g. a crutch phrase like 'let me look into that' to buy thinking time — so the feedback is actionable.
Pro tip Show what 'good' looks like with a specific example of the improved behavior.
In the wild
A cerebral, client-facing employee (called Jamie) left 10-20 second silences after clients asked questions. The personal-attack version is 'Jamie, you sound like an idiot.' The SBO version: 'On last week's call there were two long pauses after the client asked a question. I know you like to think things through, but I'm worried the client will think you don't know the answer — let's find a crutch phrase like "let me look into that" so you can buy time and come back.'
→ The SBO framing tells Jamie exactly what happened, why it matters, and how to fix it, while affirming that the leader knows he's capable.
Instead of telling someone they aren't strategic, Glazer points to specifics: 'There were three or four places in the presentation where the client needed strategic insight — here's what that looks like and what they needed to hear, and what they got was tactics.'
→ The person receives a fixable, concrete gap to close rather than an identity label they feel they can never change.
Common mistakes
Labeling the person
Telling someone they are or aren't something ('not strategic', 'not funny') feels unfixable and can stick as a painful memory for years.
Making the why about you
Framing feedback from your own annoyance ('this bothers me') misses that people only change when they understand why the outcome is bad for them.
Is it for you?
Best for
Managers and leaders who need to give corrective feedback that changes behavior without wounding the person.
Not ideal for
Situations needing pure encouragement or where no specific behavior can be pointed to.
From the transcript
“one of the things you should never do is tell someone they are something or they aren't something”
“SBO situation behavior outcome like what happened what did you do and then what was the result”
“everyone cares about why things are bad for them they don't care what for you”
From the episode
Robert Glazer: How to Build a Winning Team and Culture
Robert Glazer