Title - Giving effective feedback
Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Break down what needs to be done
2. Give real-time feedback
3. Build relationships first
4. Keep things in perspective
5. Plan what to say
On Break down what needs to be done
- Some leaders make the mistake of trying to fix too much at one go. This often results when they allow unsatisfactory behavior to carry on before they deal with it. Giving feedback in such a manner may demoralise or confuse the employee.
- Good leaders are ale to break an issue down into clear, palatable chunks to make it easy for the employee to understand the steps they need to do in order to achieve a specific goal.
On Give real time feedback
- When leaders address an issue as it occurs or just after, it is likely to have more impact than talking about it during the performance review, which takes place only once or twice a year. In most cases, delayed feedback will not work for the employee and leader, as they both miss the opportunity to address the situation sooner than later.
- Providing real time feedback is a balancing act. Depending on the situation, the leader ma sometimes need to find a suitable time to address an employee's behaviour, but in most cases, noticing and acknowledging good work quickly is an effective approach.
- Smart leaders do not just rely on the organization's systems to manage performance - they find other ways to uncover what their employees are doing correctly or wrongly. This is very powerful as it reinforces the behaviour you want, versus behaviour you do not want.
On Build relationships first
- We cannot work on shaping someone's performance without trust, and trust can only happen if there is a good relationship. Some leaders forget this important fact and tend to use their position to push for the performance they want. This may work in the short term, but is not sustainable in the long term - because employees are doing what is needed because they have to, and not because they want to.
- Taking the time to build relationships is a key component of shaping the performance of employees. If you have frequent, short interactions with your employees, you are more likely to have a comfort level with them that will enable you to give feedback more easily when required. This also increases the chances of your constructive feedback being accepted.
On Keep things in perspective
- Sometimes managers, in their need to fix things, forget to take a holistic view of the individual they are working with, only focusing only on the behaviour they want to fix.
- Good leaders manage performance from three perspectives - what this person is doing right that he or she should continue doing, the specific things he or she can do to improve performance, and what this individual needs to stop doing.
- This makes for a more balanced approach in working with employees and also helps the leader to moderate his perspective.
On Plan what to say
- Some of the best leaders plan their interaction with employees. They may seem like they are just saying things off the cuff as they project a calm and easy disposition, when in actual fact they have planned exactly what to say.
- They know that in order to speak succinctly and send clear messages, they have to make time to plan for a good conversation. Leaders should frame their interactions with staff around these points: (i) What is the key behaviour they want to focus on? (ii) So what is the impact of this behaviour on the employee and others? (iii) Now what does the employee have to do now?
Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big
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