Airplane Captain Malburn “Buddy” McBroom literally went down in history in 1978 when he crashed United Airlines Flight 173 in Oregon. He created such an environment that his co-pilots were so afraid of him that they preferred to be silent and not remind him of the airplane running out of fuel and risk dying in an airplane crash rather than to speak up. The unfortunate event resulted in a crash with several victims.
This example applies to all power-dependent relationships in everyday life. Parent-child, manager-employee. Don’t be a McBroom!
As a leader, it is your responsibility to create an environment where people feel safe to speak up without being afraid of negative consequences. This will lead to increased motivation and productivity within your team and organization.
The Art of Feedback
Imagine the company as a closed circuit. In this circuit, feedback and exchange of information allow people to find out what’s going well, and where they need to improve, change course or make adjustments. In the lack of feedback, there are no clear guidelines, everybody is just guessing the right next move. There is no predictability and working towards the same goals. Instead of concentrating on performance, people will put in lots of energy trying to figure out what the leader expects from them.
Feedback is one of the main missions of a manager. Because it is such a powerful tool, it is also one of the most feared ones. If not used properly, it can cause more harm than good.
Efficiency, satisfaction, and productivity at the workplace depend on the leader’s ability to communicate issues and give feedback to the employees. The way feedback is formulated and communicated has a long-term impact on employee satisfaction.
The feedback that is communicated with fury, will trigger one of the 3 natural responses (visible and present in all mammals): fight, flight, or freeze. None of these is beneficial either for the employee, leader, or the organization.
Often managers are too ready to criticize while being wary of offering praise. This attitude sends the message that employees are wrong and they can not get things right. Beware: the leader that prefers to criticize rather than offer recognition will slowly but steadily create an environment where employee frustration levels rise to the point of no return. In the end, this will lead to people leaving the company. Note, that people leave their managers, not the company.
The feedback that is given properly, concentrates on both the present situation and a solution instead of what went wrong.
As a feedback giver, when you categorize someone as being stupid, you close some doors, narrow the vision, and don’t leave space for discussion about finding a solution or an improvement. Automatically, a fight/flight/freeze reaction will be triggered. The feedback receiver will enter a defensive mode and the focus of the discussion will shift to the past (what went wrong) instead of the future (how can we solve this and avoid going forward).
3 Steps for Offering Feedback
Focus on the issue. Be Specific and on time
Memorize specific details about the situation you intend to offer feedback about.
Instead of saying: “I noticed that you tend to be critical with your co-workers” try something like: “During the morning meeting you have dismissed Michael’s idea and it looked like you were not interested in his perspective. Was that your intention?”
Don’t assume that you know he answer. Focus on the observable and ask questions.
You need to be very clear, precise and on point when describing the situation that triggered the need for feedback. This step is equally important whether you are offering praise or constructive criticism.
When offering positive feedback, highlight what triggered it. For example: “I heard great feedback from this weeks review. Your new data extraction model is working great!”.
Whenever a situation requires feedback, be on time. Do not wait for the next performance review to offer it. Celebrate positive events now, and do not tolerate bad behavior until the next planned review cycle.
Focus on the future. Drive for a solution
Once you have identified the issue, you will need to shift focus to how to solve the present situation. If this step is not clear, the feedback receiver might get demotivated and demoralized, not knowing how to get better.
You don’t need to find and offer the solution yourself, but you need to be ready to keep the conversation open and focused on the future. You should act as a guide/coach. Note, that it is more likely that a solution will be implemented if the solution is not given by the leader but is the “own idea” of the feedback receiver. In the end, for you as a leader, and as representative of the company, it’s important to have a solution up and running, and less important in whose mind that solution first arises.
Win-win: The solution is found and the employee is motivated to have found it an motivated to get to implement it
Focus on the People. Be empathic and tactful
Make sure you don’t criticize the person, but rather the actions and the situation. Otherwise, you risk an emotional hijack and a fight/flight/freeze type of reaction.
Try to identify an interest area of the person that will receive your feedback. By framing it having their purpose and interest in mind, you increase the chances of a well-received feedback.
Show that you care: “I am sharing this with you because I know that you want to improve your sales numbers and this is a great opportunity that can help you achieve that”.
Delivering negative feedback is never easy. Make sure you consider the other person’s feelings and start your sentence with “I” rather than “You”, thus minimizing defensiveness.
For example: “I am concerned about the tone you have used in the previous meeting today with John” will be much better received than “You are so abrupt”.