Frame a problem with SBI: situation, behavior, impact — without judgments and with a question at the end.
Three parts and a question
SBI: Situation — Behavior — Impact
SBI (Situation — Behavior — Impact) is a feedback formula from the Center for Creative Leadership. Three parts:
• Situation: when and where, specifically. “Yesterday at planning” — not “lately.”
• Behavior: what the person did — in verbs, observable, without judgments. “Interrupted Anya three times and said ‘this is nonsense’” — not “behaved rudely.”
• Impact: what it led to for the work and for people. “Anya went quiet, and we never heard the risk assessment. I'm worried people will stop speaking up.”
After SBI, pause and ask: “How does this look from your side?” Not a verdict, not a demand for an apology — a question. What follows is a conversation, not a reprimand.
Typical breakdowns: a vague situation (“you often tend to…”), a judgment instead of behavior (“you communicate toxically”), a catastrophe instead of impact (“you're tearing the team apart”).
The skeleton of the line
- 1S — Situation
“Yesterday at planning…”
- 2B — Behavior
“…you interrupted Anya three times and called her plan nonsense…”
- 3I — Impact
“…she went quiet, and we never heard about the risks.”
- 4Question
“How does this look from your side?”
Lesson notes
SBI: Situation — Behavior — Impact
SBI (Situation — Behavior — Impact) is a feedback formula from the Center for Creative Leadership. Three parts:
• Situation: when and where, specifically. “Yesterday at planning” — not “lately.”
• Behavior: what the person did — in verbs, observable, without judgments. “Interrupted Anya three times and said ‘this is nonsense’” — not “behaved rudely.”
• Impact: what it led to for the work and for people. “Anya went quiet, and we never heard the risk assessment. I'm worried people will stop speaking up.”
After SBI, pause and ask: “How does this look from your side?” Not a verdict, not a demand for an apology — a question. What follows is a conversation, not a reprimand.
Typical breakdowns: a vague situation (“you often tend to…”), a judgment instead of behavior (“you communicate toxically”), a catastrophe instead of impact (“you're tearing the team apart”).