The Importance of Effective Critical Feedback

People seem to have contradictory feelings about critical feedback. Most people will say they hate it, but some studies show that most of us would like more feedback than we currently receive even if it’s critical. However, many leaders are hesitant to share critical feedback because they worry about how the person on the receiving end will react.

What Can Happen If We Don’t Share Critical Feedback?

Perhaps we have a team member who has a performance issue. We are aware of this, but we can’t quite steel ourselves to tackle the problem. However, by not facing the difficulty head on, we are also impacting the rest of our team, who have gradually lost respect for the under-performing team member and for ourselves because we failed to do something about it. 

We hope the problem will just go away, but instead it escalates until, eventually, the offending person’s employment is called into question. We finally are forced to talk to the team member about the problem, but by that point, everyone is so frustrated that the team member is destined for failure. It’s impossible for this individual to improve quickly enough, and they will probably lose their job. 

Refusing to Share Critical Feedback Is Unfair and Unkind 

We may have a team member with a long history of treating co-workers and customers poorly. Despite numerous complaints, no previous managers had addressed the issue with him because they were afraid he would respond aggressively. Because no one told him there was a problem, he naturally kept behaving the way he always did. 

By the time we decide to address the issue, the train is probably too far down the tracks, and the person simply isn’t able to change his behavior. The outcome is that he loses his job. This situation could most likely have been avoided if previous team leaders had done their jobs properly and shared the critical messages that needed to be shared.

Sugarcoating Tough Feedback Doesn’t Help

If we are in charge of a problem employee, we might be tempted to share critical feedback infrequently and cautiously. Under the guise of kindness, we might try to soften feedback by downplaying the issue in the following ways:

·       Even when we know the issue is the cause of major problems, we “sandwich” a critical message between a couple of compliments, so the person leaves feeling happy. 

·       We sympathize by saying we’ve all made similar mistakes in the past. 

·       We dilute the message by beating around the bush or saying too much.

·       We touch on the problem but end the conversation by telling the employee that they are doing well. The necessary critical feedback is entirely lost amidst fuzzy compliments.

Unfortunately, the more justification we provide and the more we downplay a difficult message, the less likely the person is to receive the news we’re trying to impart.

When sharing a hard message, it’s best to be assertive and direct. That doesn’t mean we should never share genuine positive messages along with more negative ones. However, when we do, we must be abundantly clear with our direct feedback to ensure the core message is not lost.

By sharing direct and candid feedback, a problem employee might realize the significance of the problem and be motivated to alter his behavior and thus keep his job. 

We May Have a Misguided Sense of Kindness

We seem to be hardwired to believe that critical feedback is unkind because it could hurt the recipient’s feelings. However, employee problems can occur if we give in to a misguided sense of kindness because we value our personal emotional comfort over another’s growth. 

But think hard about what is more unkind. We can be honest with someone and, in the process, allow them to improve. Or, we can set them up for failure because they have not been made to fully realize that there is a problem.

Unfortunately, if our overwhelming fear is causing emotional pain to someone, we may leave many bodies in our wake. We are potentially lowering the quality standards of our organization, permitting problems to fester, and causing people to get fired when they might have been able to improve.

In her book Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, former Netflix Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord, who doesn’t believe in Chief Happiness Officer, sums up the problem perfectly:

One of the most important insights anyone in business can have is that it’s not cruel to tell people the truth respectfully and honestly.

If we can embrace that idea and redefine the notion of kindness to include candor, we will enhance the development of our team and our organization. 

Critical Feedback: Final Thoughts

Giving critical feedback is difficult, but it’s also a very selfless thing to do. We need to put more value on another’s growth and less on our personal comfort. 

Our next article will follow up on the subject of critical feedback and discuss ways to be candid without coming across as insensitive.

For additional reading, check out these great books on feedback:

Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson

Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Finally, if you want to improve your leadership skills including the ability to apply effective critical feedback, Shaping Development can help. Contact us today to learn more.

Leadership and Management: Is One Better Than the Other?

Is leadership a higher calling than management? This topic is somewhat controversial. Many who weigh in position themselves on one side of what they see as the great chasm that yawns between leadership and management. They tend to praise leadership and look down their noses at “inferior” management. However, even though leadership and management are not exactly similar, they are both necessary and essential for any organization to function well.

It’s not difficult to unearth examples of alluring leaders who ultimately led their followers to disaster or gifted managers who did not have the skills necessary to inspire and lead. This post will discuss what differentiates leadership and management and why it might be optimum to have a combination of both.

What Is Leadership?

Leaders are able to persuade others to aim for a common goal. Leaders tend to have a vision and share three characteristics:

• They can inspire others to have faith in their vision.

• They are able to encourage and motivate others to follow them in pursuit of that vision.

• They assist others in eliminating stumbling blocks along the path leading to the fulfillment of that vision.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want

done because he wants to do it. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Three Leaders That Inspired Others

Let’s look at how a trio of great leaders achieved their visions. 

Mahatma Gandhi’s vision was to free his country, India, from the British Raj. He led the Indian campaign for independence by employing nonviolent actions of civil disobedience. Gandhi was faced with the staggering challenge of trying to unite a country that contained many competing factions and religions. Through his visionary leadership, he inspired the Indian population to set aside what divided them and focus on what all groups had in common.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision was to win civil rights for the black people of the United States. He also used nonviolent methods to work toward his goal. King had to meet the challenge of diverse groups within the movement, some of whom did not go along with his philosophy of nonviolence. As a leader with great powers of oratory, he used this skill to focus attention on the second-class status of black people in the United States so that, in time, this could no longer be ignored. 

Maria Theresa is not someone you may have heard of. However, she earned the accolade of outstanding leadership after becoming the head of state of Austria in 1740. At the time she ascended to the throne, Austria was poorly governed and in financial straits. She possessed the leadership skills necessary to put together a contingent of skilled advisors to whom she delegated responsibilities. She turned around the flailing economy, modernized the military, and mandated education for women. All of this while birthing sixteen children and coping with a couple of wars!

What Is Management?

Management is concerned with regulating or dealing with people or things. The emphasis here tends toward things rather than people. Managers need to be methodical and approach things in a systematic manner – they need skills pertaining to organization, planning, and coordination. They also need to be analytical so that they can take the measure of their progress and make any necessary adaptations.

What’s measured gets improved. - Peter F. Druker, Management Consultant

Three Great Managers

Highly successful managers often have more laurels heaped upon them than great political or social leaders. Let’s look at three of the greatest.

Henry Ford introduced the United States to car culture. Not only that, his approach to the manufacture of automobiles influenced many other industries. Ford’s production approach was a revolution at the time – the creation of the modern assembly line. This innovation brought about an increase in efficiencies and a reduction in the cost of manufacturing materials. The final result was a product that could be affordable to the average US citizen.

Walt Disney began his working life as an accomplished cartoonist but, over time, became an unmatchable figure in the realm of global entertainment. His success was achieved by his managerial ability to recognize and utilize the talent of others. He assembled and oversaw teams that created a collection of iconic motion picture characters that are recognizable worldwide.

Madam C.J. Walker is a name you are probably not familiar with. During the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, this African-American woman created and marketed hair products for an underserved market - African-American women such as herself. She is a perfect example of someone with managerial gifts who recognized a neglected niche and had the entrepreneurial and management skills to fill it successfully.

Why Combined Leadership and Management Skills May Be Best

You have probably realized from the above examples that certain attributes belong to both strong leaders and effective managers. In fact, it is often necessary, according to circumstances, for leaders and managers to function in both roles at different points in their careers. 

So, What Is Our Conclusion?

It’s clear that an exceptional leader is not more worthy than an accomplished manager or vice-versa. Therefore, any person whose job includes responsibility for others will be more effective if they possess a blending of leadership and management skills in varying proportions depending upon their position and circumstances.

At Shaping Development our vision leads us to help individuals and organizations shape their personal or organizational skills. Whether you are a leader or a manager, or you realize you sometimes need to be both, we can help you become more effective. Get in touch with us for more information.

Four Strategies When Holding 1-on-1s

By: Daniel Soeiro Sanches, Guest Post

www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-sanches-ab56a52

I took quite some time until I found out how 1:1's would work out well for me and my team--it actually took me a year. When I look back and think about what has actually helped me in having constructive 1:1's, I have 4 points that I follow:

1) One Size Doesn't Fit All

People are so different from each other and have so many different interests and ambitions (personal and professional) that even though you might standardise on a template or a series of questions, the most important is that over time you understand how to get each person talking which will be unique.

2) Understand Why You Need to Have 1:1’s

Across the different types of people that I have managed, driven by their uniqueness in styles and background I have found out extremely useful to understand why I need to have 1:1's. The most frequent whys that I have discovered are: 1) a need for coaching; 2) a need for getting up to speed on the small details that are not talked in the drumbeat team meetings; 3) provide a safe environment for feedback and discussion and any other topics that could be affecting performance; and 4) provide a time slot to discuss career and ambitions.

3) Good Quality 1:1's Require Preparation

This can be done via a template, but what I typically do to make sure there is always something to discuss is: 1) note down three to four things concerning the person's work that I want to know more about; 2) note down specific feedback from the past week/weeks (and this alternates between feedback on how to improve, and recognition for work completed); and 3) always request feedback on something I may have done over the past time period since we last talked.

4) Some 1:1's Should Be Strategic On a Quarterly Basis

I always ask my reportee to review her/his workplace and provide me with an overview of the results achieved to date and whether they are on track/off track. This provides room for discussion, open and honest feedback and typically also supports my building of a story for the person when the performance review time comes up. It also makes sure both of us are up to speed.

For more information and to connect with Daniel, please see his LinkedIn Profile:  www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-sanches-ab56a52

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Three Questions to Ask When Creating a Mission Statement

Simon Sinek, in his book, Start With Why, makes it clear that leaders must ask the correct questions when guiding their teams.  Sinek believes that this question is "Why--" to determine why the team exists, and their purpose.

This purpose can be summed up in a mission statement.  From a larger company level, or a specific team level, all teams need to have a mission statement to guide their work.  Though Sinek makes a compelling argument to "Start with Why," I feel that there are actually three questions we must ask when we are creating the mission statement for our team: 1) Who, 2) What, and 3) Why.

1) Who

The "who" is important because it describes who is responsible for carrying out the mission of the company or the team.  It is helpful to list this out from a broad (company) perspective, but also at a specific team level, so that all can adopt the mission statement as part of company or team culture.

2) What

The "what" specifies what the company or team will be doing on a day to day basis.  This can describe from a broader sense what it is the company does, or from a team level the work the team accomplishes.

3) Why

The "why" is the third question teams should ask when creating the mission statement.  The "why" describes the purpose of the organization, and why the team exists.  This is the goal of the organization or team.

By answering these three questions, we can create mission statements that unifies our team to actions that accomplish our larger goals.

For more strategies on creating mission statements, see our eWorkbook: How to Create A Mission Statement.

References:

Sinek, Simon. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Portfolio / Penguin, 2011.

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