Backbriefing

We often talk about closed-loop communication as a technique to improve patient safety in health care.  In this particular context, closed-loop communication is a three-step process:

1. The sender initiates the message.

2. The receiver accepts the message and provides feedback confirmation

3. The sender verifies that the message was received.

The Joint Commission (previously known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, an organization that accredits more than 22,000 healthcare organizations in the U.S.) recommends using readback/hearback in order to make sure that communication is clear, concise, and most importantly, understood.  Similarly, in order to make sure that patients and family members understand medical instructions, a number of hospitals have implemented what is called "teachbacks", in which the patient or family member verbalizes their understanding by explaining back to the healthcare provider what was originally explained to them.  

Suffice it to say then, that I was interested to hear about a technique proposed by the historian and leadership consultant Stephen Bungay called "backbriefing", which he discussed in his excellent book The Art of Action.  The book is in essence a guide to improving how we, as leaders, can navigate through our VUCA world, drawing upon lessons from military history, specifically from two nineteenth century Prussian generals - Carl von Clausewitz (who wrote the classic treatise on strategy On War) and Helmuth von Moltke (the Elder).  Bungay recommends "backbriefing" to make sure that leaders and teams are aligned on the goals and objectives of the organization (specifically to close what he calls the "Alignment Gap", which is the gap between what leaders want their teams to do and what the teams actually do - see my post "Friction and Leadership" for more on the Alignment Gap).  

Similar to the closed-loop communication process used in healthcare and discussed above, "backbriefing" consists of three steps:

1. The brief.  The leader provides an explanation of the goals and objectives of the mission, as well as any guardrails or rules of engagement.  The leader doesn't discuss a specific plan, but rather the specific problem that needs to be addressed as well as the leader's own intent for what he or she wants the team to accomplish.

2. The backbrief.  The team repeats, in their own words, both what they heard, including their plans for how they will carry it out.  The backbrief describes again the problem to be solved, as well as the initial proposed solution for it.

3. Feedback and adjustment.  Both the leader and the members of the team review the intent and the work and revises as necessary.  For example, there may have been either a miscommunication or a misunderstanding, and this step is when that gets corrected.  Importantly, if changes are made to the original brief and backbrief, a repeat brief and backbrief is performed.

For more on "backbriefing", take a look at Stephen Bungay's article in the Harvard Business Review, "How to make the most of your company's strategy".  Or better yet, check out his book The Art of Action.