Even as a solopreneur there is a chance you will work with contractors and you may grow your business large enough that you will need to hire staff. When that time arises, as the business owner you may be asked to provide feedback to a team member on a project he or she is involved in. As with all communications, the words as well as the tone influence how the feedback is received and digested by the person to whom it’s offered.
How can you provide valuable feedback in such a way that it will be received and taken to heart by the person to whom you’re delivering it? Here are five ways I’ve found that have worked in my organization:
Provide feedback in a positive way. You obviously want your team member and the project to be a success so make certain the message you deliver provides a positive intent.
Choose a time for the feedback when the receiver will be receptive to it. Friday at 5 pm or in the midst of a time-crunched task is not the time to offer feedback.
Begin your feedback with an “I” statement rather than a “you” statement. “I’d like to discuss how the project is moving forward” rather than “Your contribution to the project…” Using “you” can put the receiver on the defensive.
Make certain your tone and your body language is supportive. Speak softly, don’t stand with your arms folded or your hands on your hips.
Leave an opening for the receiver to respond and listen thoughtfully to his/her concerns.
Successful outcomes in all conversations can be had with a little planning and forethought.
Do you control your time and your to-do list or does it control you? If you either don’t know the answer to that question or if you answered that you are controlled by your to-dos, here are some steps you can take to rein it in and regain control.
Make a master to-do list. Chances are you have projects that are long term but if you don’t get them written down, they will subconsciously niggle away at your energy. Write them down and give them a deadline.
Set your priorities. What do you truly need to do today? What can be moved until tomorrow? What projects will take a lot of effort and you know you should start chipping away at them little by little? Write them down.
Do you have a set work schedule? Do you have projects that are recurring? Make a list of all nonnegotiable items and their deadlines. If you know you have a standing meeting at 10 am every Monday, map your workday around that.
Don’t add in so many to-dos that there is no way you could possibly complete them. It is a great feeling to check items off a to-do list but it can deplete your energy if you have so many items that you leave the office at the end of every day with more unchecked items than checked off items.
Set long term goals. Everyone has a long term goal, an item on his or her to-do list that can be moved around and planned for as a long range item. Remember, it’s easier to eat an elephant one bite at a time rather than all in one sitting.
While it may not be a proven fact that optimists win, that attitude certainly can’t hurt your chances at success, can it? Consider that individuals who are optimistic are viewed as being more confident — confident about project outcomes, the future, the task in which they are currently involved. Optimism can very well give you the mindset of one who will succeed versus one who will fail. As a business owner, success is your ultimate goal, right?
Whether you lead an entire organization or an organization of one, you can magnify your results by holding the magnifying glass over the best of all circumstance and building on that.
Here are three ways in which you can hone your optimistic skills:
Acknowledge that YOU are the sole source of the results that occur. All situations that you encounter on a daily basis have the opportunity to shape you, and ultimately your project outcome. You need to actively manage both your attitude and outlook as well as motivating those with whom you work.
Focus on the best in those with whom you work and interact. If you walk into a situation expecting the best, that attitude will spill over onto those around you. Even if you miss a goal, take it in stride, look back at what went wrong and adjust your course.
Talk about your successes. If you hand out, or receive performance reviews, it is the best time to shine a spotlight on what you’ve done well, and look into what you may need to improve upon.
If you feel you’re not an optimist, never fear, it is a trait that can be learned and honed.
Do you lead or do you manage? This is a question that anyone who is at the helm of a company or organization needs to ask his or herself. While the terms may seem interchangeable, they certainly aren’t. Someone charged with the running of an organization could be a combination of the two but keep in mind they are separate management styles.
The way in which you motivate your staff determines whether you are a leader or a manager as the techniques vary. The techniques used to lead and motivate also determine an individuals’ leading or management style.
How do you think of your employees? As followers or subordinates? A leader has followers while a manager has subordinates. While an individual may have the title of Manager, he or she can still be a leader and will have the title Manage bestowed simply by seniority. Regardless of titles, a leader can still have followers in their organization as these followers would be with them regardless of that individual’s place within the organization.
When working with subordinates, these people have no choice but to follow you – their livelihood likely depends on it. They don’t follow you willingly, they are required to because of the hierarchy in the firm.
Because of the nature of authority in a corporation, employees – subordinates – perform the tasks the manager requests of them. Because they do the manager’s bidding, however, doesn’t mean they robotically follow mandates. In some cases though, a manager might have to use a transactional style of management to get the work done – in other words he or she may need to offer an incentive for the subordinate’s completion of the task.
If you’re a leader you’d be more likely to operate in a transformational style of motivating employees. These leaders work with the team and set goals and motivate those on the team to work to achieve that. Leaders are typically charismatic and they can easily persuade team members that having achieved the goal is not only desirable but that they’ll feel a sense of accomplishment for having done so.
When you walk into the office are you focused on the people with whom you work or are you focused solely the need to perform the tasks at hand? In many instances, managers have a set number of hours to perform a specific number of tasks. As such, they are focused on getting the subordinates to complete the necessary steps. Leaders don’t have to be friends with everyone they work with but they can certainly inspire them to meet their goals. Leaders and managers have the same tasks to complete in the same amount of time, but they each perform their duties in vastly different manners.
Do you lead or manage? Does your style work for you or do you feel you need to cultivate a different style?
Many employers sit their workers down once a year for a review. At that time, the employee finds out what they’ve been doing right or if there are areas in need of improvement. But what happens the other 364 days of the year?
Coaching is a different approach to developing employees’ potential. With coaching, you provide your staff the opportunity to grow and achieve optimal performance through consistent feedback, counseling and mentoring. Rather than relying solely on a review schedule, you can support employees along the path to meeting their goals. Done in the right way, coaching is perceived as a roadmap for success and a benefit. Done incorrectly and employees may feel berated, unappreciated, even punished.
These seven steps, when followed, can help create a positive environment for providing feedback.
Step 1: Build a Relationship of Mutual Trust
The foundation of any coaching relationship is rooted in the manager’s day-to-day relationship with the employee. Without some degree of trust, conducting an effective coaching meeting is impossible.
Step 2: Open the Meeting
In opening a coaching meeting, it’s important for the manager to clarify, in a nonevaluative, nonaccusatory way, the specific reason the meeting was arranged. The key to this step is to restate — in a friendly, nonjudgmental manner — the meeting purpose that was first set when the appointment was scheduled.
Step 3: Get Agreement
Probably the most critical step in the coaching meeting process is getting the employee to agree verbally that a performance issue exists. Overlooking or avoiding the performance issue because you assume the employee understands its significance is a typical mistake of managers. To persuade an employee a performance issue exists, a manager must be able to define the nature of the issue and get the employee to recognize the consequences of not changing his or her behavior. To do this, you must specify the behavior and clarify the consequences.
The skill of specifying the behavior consists of three parts.
Cite specific examples of the performance issue.
Clarify your performance expectations in the situation.
Asks the employee for agreement on the issue.
The skill of clarifying consequences has two parts.
Probe to get the employee to articulate his or her understanding of the consequences associated with the performance issue.
Ask the employee for agreement on the issue.
Step 4: Explore Alternatives
Next, explore ways the issue can be improved or corrected by encouraging the employee to identify alternative solutions. Avoid jumping in with your own alternatives, unless the employee is unable to think of any. Push for specific alternatives and not generalizations. Your goal in this step is not to choose an alternative, which is the next step, but to maximize the number of choices for the employee to consider and to discuss their advantages and disadvantages.
This requires the skill of reacting and expanding. You should acknowledge the employee’s suggestion, discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the suggestion, ask for and offer additional suggestions, and ask the employee to explain how to resolve the issue under discussion.
Step 5: Get a Commitment to Act
The next step is to help the employee choose an alternative. Don’t make the choice for the employee. To accomplish this step, the manager must be sure to get a verbal commitment from the employee regarding what action will be taken and when it will be taken. Be sure to support the employee’s choice and offer praise.
Step 6: Handle Excuses
Employee excuses may occur at any point during the coaching meeting. To handle excuses, rephrase the point by taking a comment or statement that was perceived by the employee to be blaming or accusatory and recast it as an encouragement for the employee to examine his or her behavior. Respond empathically to show support for the employee’s situation and communicate an understanding of both the content and feeling of the employee’s comment.
Step 7: Provide Feedback
Effective coaches understand the value and importance of giving continual performance feedback to their people, both positive and corrective.
There are a few critical things to remember when giving feedback to others. Feedback should:
Be timely. It should occur as soon as practical after the interaction, completion of the deliverable, or observation is made.
Be specific. Statements like “You did a great job” or “You didn’t take care of the clients’ concerns very well” are too vague and don’t give enough insight into the behavior you would like to see repeated or changed.
Focus on the “what,” not the “why.” Avoid making the feedback seem as if it is a judgment. Begin with “I have observed…” or “I have seen…” and then refer to the behavior. Focus on behavior and not the person. Describe what you heard and saw and how those behaviors impact the team, client, etc.
Use a sincere tone of voice. Avoid a tone that exhibits anger, frustration, disappointment or sarcasm.
Positive feedback strengthens performance. People will naturally go the extra mile when they feel recognized and appreciated. When corrective feedback is handled poorly, it will be a significant source of friction and conflict. When it is handled well, people will experience the positive effects and performance is strengthened.
