The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback PDF

BOOKS H OW-TO BOOKS E The Art of Giving and PL Receiving Feedback Shirley Poertner and Karen Massetti Miller HOW-TO H OW-TO AM BOOKS H OW-TO S 1 This previ...

BOOKS H OW-TO BOOKS E The Art of Giving and PL Receiving Feedback Shirley Poertner and Karen Massetti Miller HOW-TO H OW-TO AM BOOKS H OW-TO S 1 This preview version of our product is protected by copyright law. Copying or distribution of this file is prohibited.  The Art of LE Giving and Receiving Feedback MP Shirley Poertner and Karen Massetti Miller SA Coastal Training Technologies Corp. 500 Studio Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23452 The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback Shirley Poertner and Karen Massetti Miller Copyright ©1996 by Coastal Training Technologies Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. LE This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Credits: Coastal Training Technologies Corp.: Arthur Bauer Todd McDonald Esther Vanier MP Managing Editor: Karen Massetti Miller Designer: Gayle O’Brien Cover Design and Illustration: Kevin Zdenek Published by Coastal Training Technologies Corp. 500 Studio Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23452 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-84566 Poertner, Shirley and Massetti Miller, Karen The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback Printed in the United States of America 1997 SA ISBN 1-884926-53-3 Introduction Good communication tops most people’s lists of important workplace skills. Though business offices, retail establishments, and shop floors are relying more and more on complex electronic equipment, not all of the information employees need is found online and in databases. Effective person-to-person communication is more important than ever as teams “form and storm,” management becomes more egalitarian, and employees learn to work cross-functionally. LE One of the most important person-to-person communication skills is the ability to give and receive feedback effectively. It is also one of the most challenging. No amount of sophisticated technology can diminish the anxiety supervisors, team leaders, and team members can feel when faced with a feedback session. Perhaps you have experienced this sense of apprehension, and that’s why you’re reading this book. The good news is that feedback doesn’t have to be painful. By learning the proven techniques presented here, you can develop your feedback skills. If you provide feedback to others—coworkers, direct reports, or your manager—this book will help you to present your ideas more effectively. It will also help you to be a better MP receiver of feedback, even feedback that is presented awkwardly. With just a little practice, you’ll be able to turn feedback sessions into tools that can help you and your coworkers improve your job performance and meet important goals. Good luck! SA About the Authors Shirley Poertner Shirley Poertner is the president of Poertner Consulting Group, a consulting and training firm specializing in organizational development and individual learning. She has more than 15 years of experience in the training and development field. Before starting her own company in 1995, Ms. Poertner held key management LE positions with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Meredith Corporation, and First Interstate of Iowa, Inc. (now Boatmen’s Bancshares of Iowa, Inc.). She has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as with smaller organizations, public-sector agencies, and not-for-profits to assess and meet their development needs. Having spent several years of her career as Vice President of Human Resources, Ms. Poertner understands the importance of giving and receiving clear and specific feedback in the workplace. She has coached supervisors and team leaders in delivering important information to their employees and team members. She has conducted workshops to help employees and team members give and receive MP feedback effectively with their colleagues and leaders. Ms. Poertner knows the intricacies of effective feedback and conveys them as a dedicated coach. Karen Massetti Miller Karen Massetti Miller is the managing editor of Provant Media’s How-To Book Series and president of WritingWorks, a consulting firm offering writing, editing, and graphic design services. Ms. Miller has taught college-level courses in public speaking, business and professional communication, and journalism. She has also worked as a magazine editor and has written and edited numerous feature articles on people and places in the Midwest. As a consultant, Ms. Miller has helped a number of organizations produce proposals and presentations, informational brochures, annual reports, and SA instructional materials. Her experience as both a teacher and practitioner of business and professional communication has given her insight into the nature and importance of effective feedback. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Todd McDonald and Esther Vanier for their help, support, and assistance with this book. Assessing Your Current Feedback Skills How to Get the Most from This Book This book is designed to help you improve your skills in giving and receiving feedback in the workplace. To get the most from this book, as you read, think about the ways in which you give and receive feedback. Ask yourself if you recognize your own behaviors in our examples and if there are feedback skills you can develop further. To help you identify skills you would like to improve, here are LE two self-assessments to evaluate your current feedback skills—one for how you give feedback and another for how you receive it. How Well Do I Give Feedback? This self-assessment will help you measure your current skills in giving feedback. For each statement, check “rarely,” “sometimes,” or “often” to indicate how consistently you use the described behavior in the workplace. Rarely Sometimes Often 1. I pick an appropriate time and place to give feedback. ________ ________ ________ MP 2. I keep my emotions in check, remaining calm and keeping my voice even. ________ ________ ________ 3. I provide specific, detailed information about the employee’s behavior or performance. ________ ________ ________ 4. I explain the impact the employee’s actions are having on the team or organization. ________ ________ ________ 5. I really listen to the responses of those receiving my feedback. ________ ________ ________ 6. I clarify my expectations if there is any confusion about the behavior in question. ________ ________ ________ SA 7. I remember to thank and encourage the receivers of my feedback. ________ ________ ________ 8. I provide input as needed in developing an action plan for meeting behavioral or performance goals. ________ ________ ________ 9. I focus on the steps of the feedback process to keep the dialogue on track. ________ ________ ________ 10. I try to understand feedback from the other person’s point of view and preferred communication style. ________ ________ ________ Of course, giving feedback is only half of the story. Take a moment now and assess your skills as a feedback recipient. How Well Do I Receive Feedback? This self-assessment will help you measure your current skills in receiving feedback. For each statement, check “rarely,” “sometimes,” or “often” to indicate how consistently you use the described behavior in the workplace. Rarely Sometimes Often 1. I truly listen to what feedback givers are saying. ________ ________ ________ LE 2. I keep feedback in perspective and don’t overreact. ________ ________ ________ 3. I try to learn from all feedback, even if it’s poorly given. ________ ________ ________ 4. I am willing to admit to and learn from questions about my performance or behavior at work. ________ ________ ________ 5. Rather than avoiding feedback, I attempt to turn every feedback session into a useful encounter. ________ ________ ________ 6. I accept redirection and reinforcement rather than denying them. ________ ________ ________ MP 7 I accept responsibility for my role in achieving individual, team, and organizational goals. ________ ________ ________ 8. I accept responsibility for searching for solutions to performance and behavioral problems that threaten goals. ________ ________ ________ 9. I accept responsibility for keeping my emotions in check during feedback discussions. ________ ________ ________ 10. I am committed to listening and learning in all feedback situations. ________ ________ ________ How Did You Score? SA How did you score on the two self-assessments? If you answered most of the questions with “often,” your skills for giving useful feedback and receiving feedback effectively are well developed. If you answered a number of questions with “rarely” or “sometimes,” your feedback skills could probably use further development. At the end of this book, we will provide an opportunity for you to reassess your skills and develop an action plan for strengthening those areas in which you need more experience.  Table of Contents Chapter One The Power of Feedback 10 What Is Feedback? 10 How Do We Give Feedback in the Workplace? 13 LE Redirection and Reinforcement 14 Misperceptions About Feedback 19 Sharing the Benefits of Continual Feedback 20 Self-Check: Chapter 1 Review 21 Chapter Two Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback 22 Creating Detailed Feedback 22 Detailed Feedback Is Specific 23 MP Don’t Let Time Dull Your Details 27 Feedback––A Two-Way Process 28 Self-Check: Chapter 2 Review 30 Chapter Three Planning Effective Feedback 32 Why You Should Plan Your Feedback 32 Ask These Questions When Planning Feedback 33 Self-Check: Chapter 3 Review 41 Chapter Four SA Steps for Giving Effective Feedback 42 Preparing to Give Your Feedback 42 Choosing an Appropriate Time and Place 42 Beginning the Feedback Session 43 Presenting Your Feedback 44 Basic Steps for Giving Reinforcement 44 Basic Steps for Giving Redirection 50 Staying on Track 58 Documenting Your Feedback 60 Providing Higher Levels of Information 61 Self-Check: Chapter 4 Review 62  Table of Contents Chapter Five Steps for Receiving Feedback Effectively 64 How Do You React to Feedback? 64 LE Listening and Learning from Feedback 66 Are You Ready for Feedback? 68 Helping Choose the Appropriate Time and Place 68 Staying Calm and Cordial 69 Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions 69 Basic Steps for Receiving Feedback 70 Probing for Higher Levels of Information 76 Self-Check: Chapter 5 Review 77 Chapter Six Feedback and Communication MP Styles 78 What Are Communication Styles? 78 How Styles Affect Feedback 80 Understanding the Communication Styles of Others 81 Self-Check: Chapter 6 Review 85 Chapter Seven Handling Difficult Feedback Situations 86 Identifying Difficult Feedback Situations 86 When Personal Problems Affect Performance 87 SA When Personalities Clash 89 When a Coworker’s Personal Habits Affect Your Work 90 When You Receive Overly General Redirection 92 Taking Control of the Situation 93 Chapter Eight Developing Your Feedback Skills 94 Reassessing Your Feedback Skills 94 Developing an Action Plan 97 Answers to Chapter Reviews 100  The Power of Feedback Chapter One The Power of Feedback LE Chapter Objectives ▲ Define feedback. ▲ Recognize ineffective types of feedback. ▲ Recognize the characteristics of effective feedback. ▲ Define redirection and reinforcement, two types of MP feedback that are especially effective in the workplace. What Is Feedback? division manager hands in a report to her area director and A waits for a month without receiving a reaction. The division manager wonders, “What did I do wrong?” A supervisor becomes upset at a secretary who consistently makes typing errors. “Don’t you know anything about the English language?” he yells. “It’s amazing you ever finished high school!” The manager slams a recently typed memo on the secretary’s desk and stalks off; the specific typing errors SA are never discussed. An employee receives praise from a supervisor during an annual evaluation. “You’re doing a great job,” she’s told. “Keep Whenever up the good work.” As the employee leaves the supervisor’s we respond office, she wonders, “What exactly am I doing well? I want to to another keep doing it, but I’m not sure what ‘it’ is.” person, we are giving Whenever we respond to another person, we are giving that that person person feedback. We may be reacting to any number of things: feedback. ◆ The way a person looks ◆ His or her actions 10  The Power of Feedback ◆ Something he or she said ◆ Or a combination of factors Similarly, our feedback may take many forms. We may state our 1 reactions verbally, through speaking or writing, or we may react LE nonverbally, letting our body language and facial expressions speak for us. Though there are many types of feedback, not all feedback is Though there useful. Consider our three examples. In the first example, the are many types area director has responded to the division manager with silence. of feedback, Silence is actually one of the most common forms of feedback in not all business. How many times have you heard a manager say, “You feedback is won’t hear from me unless there’s a problem”? But silence can be useful. misinterpreted. In this case, the division manager has interpreted silence as criticism, but is that what the area director really MP means? The area director may just have thought she was too busy to respond, yet her silence has sent a message that is unintentionally negative. Silence certainly wasn’t a problem for the manager in the second example. That manager chose to give feedback in the form of criticism, attacking the secretary’s personal qualities rather than focusing on the typing errors. The manager may have vented some emotion by yelling at the secretary, but the secretary still has no idea what the errors are and what should be done about them. The manager’s criticism has only created distrust and hostility, which will make it even more difficult to discuss the actual problem. SA 11  The Power of Feedback The supervisor in our third example offered praise, certainly a more pleasant form of feedback than the first two. The employee in the third example is undoubtedly happy to learn that her boss likes her work, but unless she asks for more specific details regarding what actions she should continue, the praise is of little LE long-term value. As you can see, we are constantly responding to the actions of others, sometimes even without meaning to—as the old cliché says, “You cannot not communicate.” How can we ensure that our responses provide people with useful feedback? Our first step is to determine what we want our feedback to accomplish. Take a Moment Did our opening examples remind you of a similar situation MP you may have encountered? Describe the situation. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Do you think the situation you experienced was handled well? How might it have been handled better? _______________________________________________ SA _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 12  The Power of Feedback How Do We Give Feedback in the Workplace? In the workplace, our feedback takes on special meaning. In this 1 book, we will define workplace feedback as information we LE provide fellow employees and team members about their acts in order to help them meet individual, group, and organizational goals. In the workplace, there are two types of acts about which Workplace we generally provide feedback: job performance and work- feedback is related behavior. information we provide fellow ◆ Job performance involves competency—whether or not an employees employee is capably performing specific tasks that have been about their job assigned. performance and their ◆ Work-related behavior involves the way in which an employee work-related performs his or her tasks—whether he or she speaks politely MP behavior in to customers, for example, and works cooperatively with order to help other team members. them meet goals. Notice that our definition of workplace feedback is fairly specific. When we give workplace feedback, we are not commenting on our coworkers’ personalities or private lives, nor are we dwelling on employees’ past errors in order to punish them. Instead, we respond to those factors that affect our feedback recipient’s work or the work of others so that our recipient can plan for the future. What is the best way to give workplace feedback? As we have seen, not all types of information result in effective feedback. SA The feedback given in our first three examples produced a variety of results. Silence allowed the division manager to create her own interpretation of the area supervisor’s reaction, which may or may not have been correct. Criticism created harsh feelings between the secretary and the manager. Praise created positive feelings during the employee evaluation but accomplished nothing more. What could more effective feedback have done? 13  The Power of Feedback Redirection and Reinforcement Think for a moment about our last two examples. Did the manager really want to insult the secretary? No, the criticism was meant to redirect the secretary’s job performance to eliminate the typing errors—it just came out badly. And what was the LE intention of the supervisor in the second example? To reinforce the employee’s positive actions so that she will repeat and develop them. These two types of feedback—redirection and reinforcement— are especially effective in the workplace. ◆ Redirection—identifies job-related behaviors and performance that do not contribute to individual, group, and organizational goals and helps the employee develop alternative strategies. MP ◆ Reinforcement—identifies job-related behaviors and performance that contribute to individual, group, and organizational goals and encourages the employee to repeat and develop them. Redirection and reinforcement are really two halves of the same Redirection coin—they work together to provide all members of an and reinforce- organization with the information they need to improve their ment are really job performance and work up to their full potential. When two halves of feedback takes the form of redirection and reinforcement, it has the same coin. a number of useful characteristics: It is focused on acts, not attitude. SA ◆ ◆ It is directed toward the future. ◆ It is goal oriented. ◆ It is multidirectional. ◆ It is supportive. ◆ It is continual. 14  The Power of Feedback Useful Feedback Is Focused on Acts, Not Attitude Useful workplace feedback focuses on acts rather than an employee’s attitude or personal characteristics—it responds to 1 specific actions that are done in the process of performing one’s LE job. Attacking someone’s talent and abilities, educational background, physical attributes, or ethnic background is not Useful useful feedback and, in extreme cases, could leave your feedback organization subject to legal action. responds to specific actions Sometimes we may think that we are giving a person feedback that are done about his or her actions when, in fact, we are commenting on in the process attitude, which is not a useful type of feedback. It does little of performing good to accuse an employee of being “unenthusiastic” or one’s job. “unprofessional”—we have no way of knowing how that person truly feels, nor is it really our business. Instead, we should focus MP on what we can see—the acts that we hope to redirect or reinforce. Rather than commenting on an employee’s lack of professionalism, for example, we redirect job performance issues, like typing errors, and behavioral problems that affect job performance, like lateness. Take a Moment Think of a situation in which you received redirection that was not focused on acts (as in the secretarial example at the beginning of this chapter). Describe the criticism you received. How did the other person approach you? What did he or she say? SA _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ How did you respond to this criticism? Were there aspects of your work that could have been improved? How could your critic have changed his or her message so that you could have benefited from the advice by redirecting your efforts? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 15  The Power of Feedback Useful Feedback Is Directed Toward the Future The purpose of The purpose of feedback is not to dwell on the past— feedback is not it is to plan for the future. Though feedback begins to dwell on the with a consideration of past and current behaviors and job past—it is to performance, it certainly doesn’t end there. Useful feedback uses LE plan for the past actions as a springboard to help the feedback recipient future. develop effective plans for future actions. Useful Feedback Is Goal Oriented Everyone within your organization shares common goals that relate to your organization’s mission, vision, and strategies for success. Members of your team or department share certain goals as well. Similarly, everyone in your organization has individual goals that will help him or her contribute to the company’s goals. We might think of individual goals as paths all leading to the MP completion of organizational goals. As each of us walks along our path, we believe that we are moving in the right direction. But there may be obstacles ahead that we can’t see, or perhaps our path is interfering with someone else’s. The only way we will ever know these things is if people from other vantage points tell us. When we look at feedback this way, it becomes as important a work tool as a computer or a calculator. Take a Moment Think of an instance when a colleague or a supervisor provided feedback from his or her vantage point that helped SA get you back on track toward meeting an important goal. Describe the instance. What was the goal and how did the feedback help you? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 16  The Power of Feedback Useful Feedback Is Multidirectional Many of us might think of feedback as hierarchical in nature: a manager or supervisor sends feedback downward to an employee, not the other way around. But feedback is 1 multidirectional. In a hierarchical organization, employees need LE to send feedback upward to managers; otherwise, management will have no way of knowing what is actually happening on the It is everyone’s front lines. Employees also need to provide feedback laterally to responsibility coworkers so that problems can be corrected immediately to share his or instead of waiting for management to respond. her unique insights in As cross-functional teams have become more common, ongoing order to help feedback among all team members is especially important. the team meet Because every member of the team has a different perspective, its goal. each person has a unique vantage point and insight into the work situation. Sharing information from one perspective can MP help other team members see things they might not have seen from their vantage points. It is everyone’s responsibility to share his or her unique insights in order to help the team meet its goal. Take a Moment Whose behavior or performance affects how you are able to do your job? Certainly your manager. Who else? List them below by position or role. (Don’t forget to include those external to your workplace, as well as internal contacts.) ______________________ ______________________ SA ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ 1. Identify with a * the role you would be most likely to provide with reinforcing feedback. 2. Identify with a # the role you would be most likely to provide with redirecting feedback. 17  The Power of Feedback Useful Feedback Is Supportive Useful feedback is given in a spirit of supportiveness. The sole purpose of giving workplace feedback is to help associates, supervisors, and coworkers to improve the quality of their work in order to meet goals—it is always given with helpfulness in LE mind. Feedback should never be given in a way that belittles the recipient or makes others look good at that person’s expense. Useful Feedback Is Continual Feedback isn’t just something we provide during an annual review or some other type of formal evaluation. In order to do our jobs in the best way possible, we need continual information about our job-related behaviors and performance. We need to know immediately when we should redirect our efforts so that simple mistakes don’t become costly errors, and we need reinforcement when those changes have been successful so MP that we continue to develop a specific action. When feedback is continual, When feedback is continual, team members feel comfortable team members responding to each other on an ongoing basis. As we develop feel comfortable solutions to specific situations, redirecting feedback will become responding to reinforcing feedback, and each new piece of information will each other on bring us closer to meeting our individual and group goals, as in an ongoing Diagram 1. basis. Redirect Reinforce GOALS SA DIAGRAM 1 18  The Power of Feedback Misperceptions About Feedback As useful as feedback can be, many of us are reluctant to give or receive it. Usually that reluctance is based on misperceptions we have about feedback. Though we are learning to see feedback in 1 a more positive light, many people still associate feedback with LE hurtful criticism. They are reluctant to hurt the feelings of others, and they certainly don’t want their own work to be Many people criticized. Perhaps you can recall times in your life when you still associate have been the subject of hurtful criticism, or times when your feedback with criticism, no matter how well intentioned, seemed to hurt the hurtful criticism. feelings of another. When we think about instances in which we have been subjected to hurtful criticism, we often find that what hurt us wasn’t the fact that someone was commenting on our work, but the way in which those comments were offered. Somehow, feedback about MP our typing errors turned into an evaluation of our entire educational history and personality. As we’ve seen, effective feedback doesn’t veer off into these types of unstructured statements. By following the steps in this guide, you will be able to provide feedback that avoids hurtful criticism, and you will be able to respond to any hurtful criticism you may receive so that it, too, becomes useful. SA 19  The Power of Feedback Sharing the Benefits of Continual Feedback When everyone on your team learns to provide and expect feedback that is focused on acts, directed toward the future, goal LE oriented, multidirectional, supportive, and continual, you will find that feedback sessions become opportunities for creative problem solving rather than dreaded encounters. Everyone on your team will share the same language, and you will be able to share ideas without fear of hurt feelings or reprisals. Even as you are beginning to realize that continual feedback can have a number of benefits for you and your organization, you still may not be totally comfortable with the idea. In our next chapter, we will explore some of the common misperceptions that keep people from giving feedback. MP SA 20  The Power of Feedback Self-ChecK: Chapter 1 Review Suggested answers appear on page 100. 1. Workplace feedback is information we provide fellow ✓ 1 employees and team members about LE ______________________________________________. 2. Three types of ineffective workplace feedback are ______________________, _______________________, and ___________________________. 3. Two types of effective workplace feedback are MP ______________________ and ____________________. 4. Effective workplace feedback has a number of characteristics. Three of them are: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ SA 21  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Chapter Two Useful Feedback Is LE Detailed Feedback Chapter Objectives ▲ Understand the importance of detailed feedback. ▲ Recognize the features of detailed feedback. ▲ Recognize the roles that those giving and receiving MP feedback play in creating detailed feedback. Creating Detailed Feedback n Chapter 1 we defined workplace feedback as information we Iperformance provide fellow employees and team members about their job and their work-related behavior in order to help them meet individual, group, and organizational goals. We’ve already seen that the nature of that information helps determine whether our feedback will be effective or not: useful feedback focuses on acts rather than attitudes, is goal oriented, and is always given in a spirit of mutual support. SA Feedback is A key feature that helps make feedback useful is the amount of most helpful detail it provides. Feedback is most helpful when it provides as when it much detailed information about our actions as possible. We provides as can make sure that feedback is detailed by remembering these much detailed simple guidelines: information ◆ Detailed feedback is specific. about our actions as ◆ Detailed feedback is accurate. possible. ◆ Detailed feedback is inquiring. 22  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Detailed Feedback Is Specific “I just don’t like the way you arranged that display. Change it!” “The ad copy you wrote just doesn’t ‘click.’ You know what I mean.” LE “Try to put a little more ‘oomph’ in your presentations. Wake people up!” 2 You’ve probably heard statements like these before. They are attempts at redirection, but they’re poor ones. They don’t give the person receiving the feedback enough specific information to make changes in his or her actions. The most the receiver can do in each case is to try again, but without specific information, that attempt will be just another shot in the dark. The receiver may have to make several attempts before he or she hits on MP something the person giving the feedback likes. This is a waste of time and resources as well as a drain on morale. You can avoid situations like this by making your feedback as Before giving specific as possible. Before giving feedback to another person, try feedback to to recall as much specific information as you can about the another person, action you want to redirect or reinforce. You might begin by try to recall as asking yourself what, when, where, who, and how: much specific information as ◆ What happened? you can about the action ◆ Where and when did it occur? you want to ◆ Who was involved? redirect or reinforce. SA ◆ How did it affect others? 23  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback With these questions in mind, consider this alternative to our third example: “Your presentations always include a wealth of new ideas, but you don’t sound personally excited about the things you’re LE suggesting. Your voice is often very soft and monotone, and your rate of speaking can be very slow. Our surveys show that your audience members think you sound bored with your topic, and that makes them feel bored, too. Are there some things you could do to make your enthusiasm for your topic more evident to your listeners?” This revised example tells the feedback recipient specifically what he’s been doing (not projecting enthusiasm for his material), where and when he’s been doing it (during presentations), who it involves (his listeners), and how it affects them (makes them feel bored). The recipient will be able to MP redirect his efforts with much less confusion and effort than if he had received the feedback in our earlier example. It is also important to be specific when giving reinforcing feedback as well. Consider the difference between these two statements: “Great report, Kari. Keep up the good work.” “I liked the way you incorporated the two graphs into your report this month, Kari. They made it much easier to follow the cash flow. I hope you’ll do it again.” Kari will be better able to repeat her report-writing efforts based SA on the specific information in the second example. 24  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Detailed Feedback Is Accurate Feedback can do little good if it inaccurately portrays the action in question. Describing actions that were never taken or events that never occurred only puts your feedback recipient on the defensive as he or she attempts to describe what really took LE place. Always be sure that you have an accurate understanding of the 2 situation you are describing before you begin a feedback session. If you think that there might be some question about your version of the situation, try to identify more than one instance Always be sure of it and document times, dates, and locations. You can also that you have check your observations against those of others to see if you all an accurate arrive at similar interpretations. understanding of the situation Detailed Feedback Is Inquiring before you MP begin a Have an inquiring mind—learn all that you can about a feedback complicated situation before you give feedback. Your session. investigation may help you arrive at a totally different interpretation of the situation—an interpretation that could result in totally different feedback. You may even discover that you wish to direct your feedback to a different person, or that actions that you thought needed to be changed were actually making a positive contribution. Continue to ask questions during the feedback process itself. Encourage your feedback recipient to describe events that may be affecting the situation in question, and involve him or her in developing any plans for future action. SA 25  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Take a Moment Effective feedback is specific. How could the person giving the following feedback have been more specific in reinforcing or redirecting the other person’s performance or LE behavior? “Pat, this report is not clear.” _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ “Lee, your presentation seemed to drag.” _______________________________________________ MP _______________________________________________ “Dee, your team seems to be jelling nicely.” _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Effective feedback is inquiring. Describe an instance when your inquiries—either prior to or during a feedback discussion—resulted in information which greatly changed the focus of the feedback you planned to deliver. _______________________________________________ SA _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 26  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Don’t Let Time Dull Your Details Time has a way of dulling even the most vivid memories. In order to incorporate as many details into your feedback as possible, try to give redirection or reinforcement as close as LE possible to the time the act in question actually occurred. It is always easier to discuss something when events are fresh in everyone’s mind, and responding to a situation quickly shows 2 that you believe that it is important. One exception to this rule is the situation in which you need to Give redirection both reinforce and redirect the person receiving the feedback. or reinforce- People receiving both types of feedback generally focus on the ment as close redirection, and the reinforcement that you wanted to provide as possible to often is ignored. the time the act in question To alleviate this confusion, try splitting your feedback. One MP actually effective method of splitting feedback involves giving occurred. reinforcement as soon after the action in question as possible, then providing redirection closer to the time the person is going to repeat the action. For example, a manager who has just received a monthly report could reinforce her associate’s use of charts and bar graphs immediately after receiving the report and then redirect the associate to also include a spreadsheet with the report closer to next month’s due date. A word of caution—balance the need for a timely response against the need to prepare for the feedback session. Remember that your feedback needs to be well organized and documented as well as on time. Beginning to plan your feedback as soon as SA you realize that a situation requires your response will help you to be both on time and well prepared. 27  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Specifiying is Feedback—A Two-Way Process providing more Giving Feedback: The Process of Specifying and more specific Keeping these guidelines in mind as you prepare your feedback information to will help you develop redirection and reinforcement that is LE the person detailed and useful. As you begin your first feedback sessions, receiving your you might think of giving detailed feedback as the process of feedback. specifying—that is, providing more and more specific information to the person receiving your feedback. The more specific the information you can provide, the closer your recipient can come to meeting individual, group, and organizational goals. Of course, creating useful feedback isn’t only the responsibility of the person giving that feedback. Both those giving feedback and those receiving it have important roles to play in ensuring MP that feedback provides as much useful detail as possible. Receiving Feedback: The Process of Probing Probing is It’s a fact of life—you won’t always receive useful, detailed asking the feedback on the job. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept person giving poor quality feedback that does nothing to help you redirect or you feedback reinforce your own performance. Feedback recipients can for more and request the details they need through the process of probing— more details. asking the person giving the feedback for more and more details. As you probe for information, you will receive more and more specific details about your behavior and performance. Diagram 2 illustrates how the processes of specifying and SA probing work together to bring ever-increasing amounts of information to the feedback situation. As the levels of probing and specifying increase, so does the level of detailed information available to the person receiving the feedback, which will help that person move closer to achieving goals. 28  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback ACHIEVING GOALS Specifying Probing for many details many details LE Amount of 2 Detailed Information Specifying few Probing for few details details Giving Feedback Receiving Feedback MP DIAGRAM 2 In the following chapters, we will outline specific techniques that will help you to be an efficient giver and receiver of feedback. In each case, we will stress the importance of specifying—and probing for—the amount of specific information necessary to redirect or reinforce behaviors and performance. SA 29  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback ✓ Self-Check: Chapter 2 Review Suggested answers appear on page 100. 1. What are three characteristics of detailed feedback? LE ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ 2. In order to provide your feedback recipient with as much specific detail as possible, when should you provide reinforcement or redirection? ______________________________________________ MP ______________________________________________ 3. Providing more and more specific information to the recipient of your feedback is the process of ______________________________________________ 4. Asking the person giving you feedback for more and more details is the process of ______________________________________________ SA 30  Useful Feedback Is Detailed Feedback Notes LE 2 MP SA  Planning Effective Feedback Chapter Three Planning Effective Feedback LE Chapter Objectives ▲ Recognize the importance of planning feedback. ▲ Ask yourself a series of questions that will help you prepare detailed feedback. Why You Should Plan Your Feedback MP ffective feedback doesn’t just happen. Whether you’re giving E redirection or reinforcement, you should plan what you are going to say in advance. You will need to identify examples to support the redirection or reinforcement you want to give, and you will need to organize your thoughts so that you are able to present your feedback coherently. As you take part in more and more feedback sessions, you may find that, in some cases, you actually spend more time planning your feedback than you do giving it. This is not uncommon— the more time you put into your planning, the more smoothly your feedback sessions will run. SA 32  Planning Effective Feedback Ask These Questions When Planning Feedback Knowing that you want to give someone reinforcement or redirection is just the beginning of the feedback planning LE process. Try asking yourself this series of questions to get your feedback planning on track. ◆ Can I identify and accurately describe the behavior or performance I want to redirect or reinforce and its effects on others in the organization? 3 ◆ Do I have detailed examples of the act and its effects that I can use to support my descriptions? ◆ Can I identify and describe the results that I hope my reinforcement or redirection will produce? MP ◆ Does the person receiving the feedback understand my expectations for his or her performance? ◆ Is the person receiving the feedback really responsible for the act in question? ◆ Is the other person open to receiving feedback from me? ◆ Have I put off giving this feedback for a long time? ◆ Have I given myself enough time to prepare the feedback? SA 33  Planning Effective Feedback Begin your Identifying Behavior and Performance Issues feedback Can you identify and accurately describe the specific behavior or preparation by performance you want to redirect or reinforce and its effects on identifying the others in the organization? As we saw in Chapter 2, effective specific job feedback requires more than just a vague statement that you like LE performance or or dislike someone’s work. Statements like “Something’s wrong behavior issue here—I don’t know exactly what it is, but change it” don’t you want to provide enough details for employees to begin to redirect their redirect or actions. Likewise, telling someone, “Keep up the good work!” reinforce and does little to tell that person what good work is. the effects that act has on Begin your feedback preparation by identifying the specific job others in your performance or behavior issue you want to redirect or reinforce organization. and the effects that act has on others in your organization. Prepare for your feedback sessions by making a list in which you describe the act and its effects, as in these two examples: MP Kelsey: Behavior to Redirect: Was late to work 3 times in the past week. Effects on Others: Person on previous shift had to work late; people on same shift are irritated and demoralized. Word-Processing Pool: Performance to Reinforce: Reorganized work process so that correspondence is completed more quickly and with fewer errors. SA Effects on Others: Lower turnaround time means we can respond to clients more quickly; reduction in errors means fewer documents have to be retyped, which also saves time and money. 34  Planning Effective Feedback Providing Examples Do you have detailed examples of the act and its effects that you can use to support your argument? The more examples you can describe, the stronger your case will be, especially if you are asking someone to redirect an action and are concerned that the LE person might resist your redirection. Here is one way you could list examples of actions and effects to support redirection of the employee who is late to work: Kelsey: Example of Behavior: Effects on Others: Monday: Kelsey 1/2 hour late Pam had to open by herself. 3 for first shift. Wednesday: Kelsey 20 minutes Pam had to delay lunch late getting back from lunch. break; front desk short- staffed at busiest time of day. MP Thursday: Kelsey 1 hour late John had to continue working for second shift. after first shift ended. Identifying Desired Results Remember, the purpose of giving feedback isn’t to dwell on the After you give past—it’s to plan for the future. Can you identify and describe your feedback, the results that you hope your reinforcement or redirection will what types of produce? After you give your feedback, what types of actions do actions do you you hope to see? hope to see? In the case of reinforcement, the answer is easy—you hope to see the act in question repeated and developed. In the case of SA redirection, you may need to give a little more thought to this question. Although you will want to take input from the person receiving your redirection about specific short- and long-term goals, you should have some objectives in mind. Keep these goals in sight as you talk to the person to ensure that the action plan you negotiate leads to the results you want. 35  Planning Effective Feedback Understanding Expectations Does the person receiving the feedback understand your expectations for his or her behavior and job performance? This Ask yourself is an especially important question for cases of redirection. what you and Often we assume that people understand exactly what they are LE others have supposed to be doing in a given situation, but that may not be done in the the case. Ask yourself what you and others have done in the past past to clarify to clarify your expectations. Refer to the person’s job description expectations. and to previous performance evaluations—have your expectations ever been addressed before? If you discover that no one has ever addressed the act in question with your feedback recipient, your redirection may take the form of clarifying your expectations. If the expectations are new to the employee, you may also need to discuss such questions as: MP ◆ Are the expectations fair and reasonable? ◆ Is the feedback recipient capable of meeting them? ◆ Are there ways in which the team can help the feedback recipient meet the expectations? Controlling the Situation Is the person receiving the feedback really responsible for the act in question? The person to whom you are planning to give your feedback may have no trouble understanding your expectations yet be unable to meet them. This could occur for a variety SA of reasons. Perhaps the feedback recipient is not actually responsible for the situation you are addressing, or perhaps the recipient does not have the resources to redirect or repeat his or her actions. 36  Planning Effective Feedback Before you give feedback to anyone, try to discover if other people might be responsible for the situation. You may want to reinforce Ben’s addition of bar graphs to the weekly sales memo, but he can only do this when accounting gives him the figures. Perhaps Anita in accounting needs your reinforcement, too. LE If you think outside factors may be affecting your feedback recipient’s actions, but you aren’t sure, ask the recipient in the course of giving your feedback and take his or her response into account as the two of you develop plans for the future. Accepting Feedback 3 Is the other person open to accepting feedback from you? This will depend on your relationship with the person receiving your feedback and his or her attitude toward the feedback process. Questions to ask yourself include: MP ◆ Are you a credible feedback source for this person? Does your feedback recipient believe that you have the expertise to provide competent redirection or reinforcement? If you believe your credibility may be an issue, make doubly sure you have plenty of examples to support your comments. ◆ Is your relationship with your feedback recipient cordial? People are People are always willing to accept suggestions more readily always willing from someone with whom they have a good working to accept relationship. If you do not have a good relationship with suggestions your receiver, or perhaps have criticized (rather than more readily redirected) the receiver’s work in the past, you may need to from someone SA reestablish your relationship before feedback can be effective. with whom they have a ◆ What is your status relative to the feedback recipient’s? good working In hierarchical organizations, it is often difficult to give relationship. feedback, especially redirection, to a manager or supervisor. If you are presenting feedback to a higher-up, present plenty of examples to establish your credibility and remember to present your comments as supportive rather than critical. 37  Planning Effective Feedback Delaying Feedback Have you put off giving this feedback for a long time? If you previously looked on feedback as unpleasant or unimportant, Delaying you may have put off approaching the receiver with your feedback feedback. Unfortunately, delaying feedback makes it harder to LE makes it give that feedback when you finally do sit down with your harder to give receiver. that feedback when you ◆ If you have delayed giving redirection, the situation may finally do sit have had time to escalate from a minor glitch to a serious down with problem. your receiver. ◆ If you have delayed giving reinforcement, your recipient may not remember the act in question and may wonder why it has taken you so long to respond. MP ◆ The receiver of your feedback may not be open to your input after such a long delay. Delayed redirection can often result in responses like “But that’s the way we’ve always done it” from the recipient. You may need to explain to your feedback recipient that you realize that you have not always been timely in giving feedback, and that this is your first effort to correct that problem. Don’t delay—if you have been avoiding a feedback session, don’t put it off any longer! Immediately schedule a session and start to prepare for it. SA 38  Planning Effective Feedback Taking Time for Feedback Always give Have you given yourself enough time to prepare your feedback? yourself Don’t kid yourself—it takes time to think about all of the issues enough time so we’ve just mentioned as well as to document and describe the that you begin actions you hope to redirect or reinforce. Always give yourself every feedback LE enough time so that you begin every feedback session fully session fully prepared. prepared. Take a Moment Think of someone in your workplace to whom you need to 3 give feedback about the quality of his or her efforts. Perhaps you need to redirect that person’s performance. Perhaps there’s a behavior that is inappropriate or unsatisfactory. Use the Feedback Plan form on the following page to help MP you prepare the necessary feedback. If you take the time to consider each of the questions, you should be fully prepared for your next feedback session. Our next chapter will describe a series of steps that will guide you through the feedback process. SA 39  Planning Effective Feedback Feedback Plan Identify and accurately describe the specific actions you want to reinforce or redirect and their effects on others. LE _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ List detailed examples of these actions and their effects to use as support for question #1. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Identify and describe the results that you hope your reinforcement or redirection will produce. MP _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Do you think the person receiving the feedback understands your expectations for his/her behavior or performance? _____ Yes _____ No Do you think the person receiving the feedback is really responsible for the behavior or performance in question? _____ Yes _____ No SA Do you think the other person is open to receiving feedback from you? _____ Yes _____ No Have you put off giving this feedback for a long time? _____ Yes _____ No Have you given yourself enough time to prepare the feedback? _____ Yes _____ No 40  Planning Effective Feedback Self-Check: Chapter 3 Review Suggested answers appear on page 100. 1. True or False? ✓ You may find yourself putting more time into planning your LE feedback than you do actually giving it. 2. True or False? It isn’t necessary to identify and describe specific actions that you want to redirect or reinforce—just stating that you like or dislike someone’s work is enough. 3 3. True or False? You should always be sure that your feedback recipient understands your expectations for his or her performance before you begin a feedback session. MP 4. True or False? Before you begin a feedback session, you should be sure that the person you will be redirecting or reinforcing is actually responsible for the action in question. 5. True or False? Delayed feedback is no more difficult to give than timely feedback. SA 41  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Chapter Four Steps for Giving LE Effective Feedback Chapter Objectives ▲ Follow the basic steps for reinforcing effective job performance and job-related behavior. ▲ Follow the basic steps for redirecting ineffective job performance and job-related behavior. MP ▲ Understand how the amount of information you give your feedback recipient can help that person achieve individual, group, and organizational goals. Preparing to Give Your Feedback f you’ve done everything you can to plan your feedback, giving Iprocess that feedback should be relatively easy. You can begin the by choosing the time and place to present your feedback. Choosing an Appropriate Time and Place SA Try to give your feedback in a situation where you won’t be distracted by other people or concerns. Plan ahead and make an appointment with your feedback recipient—try to choose a time when neither of you will be too tired or stressed. 42  Steps for Giving Effective If you are giving redirection, you will want to choose a private place where your conversation won’t be overheard. If you are giving the same redirection to a group of people, such as instructing a group of telemarketers on a better way to ask callers to hold, you can present your comments to the entire LE group. However, under most circumstances, you should not Under most redirect an individual in front of other employees. circumstances, you should not Reinforcement can sometimes be given more informally. If your redirect an comments will be brief, you might ask the person to step inside individual in your office for a moment rather than scheduling a formal front of other appointment. If your organizational culture supports public employees. recognition of employees, you can give reinforcement in front of others, such as during a weekly staff meeting. This can be an effective way of recognizing an accomplishment as well as demonstrating to other employees the type of actions you want 4 MP to reinforce. Beginning the Feedback Session Whether you are redirecting or reinforcing an associate or coworker, try to help that person feel comfortable as you begin the feedback session. If the feedback session is taking place in your office, invite the other person to sit down. Offer him or her coffee or a soft drink if that is customary within your organization. If the other person seems especially nervous, you might try to break the ice with some casual conversation before getting into your topic. As your feedback session progresses, keep your own emotions in SA check, especially if you are attempting to redirect a problem that has frustrated you in the past. Your demeanor sets the tone for the meeting—do not say or do anything that would cause the person receiving your feedback to become emotional. Remain calm and keep your voice even throughout the session—never shout at or berate an employee. 43  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Presenting Your Feedback Once you have established a positive tone for the feedback session, the process should flow smoothly. Remember that your goal is to specify as much detailed, useful information as possible to help your associate or coworker be as productive as possible. LE You can do that easily by following some basic steps for reinforcement and redirection. Basic Steps for Giving Reinforcement You can give reinforcement that your associates and coworkers will remember if you follow these four easy steps: 1. Describe the behavior or performance you want to reinforce. 2. Explain the positive impact that act has had on the MP organization. 3. Help your feedback recipient take credit for his or her success. 4. Thank your feedback recipient for his or her contribution toward meeting group or organizational goals and encourage similar future actions. The steps for giving reinforcement are summarized in the following flowchart. SA 44  Steps for Giving Effective Steps for Giving Reinforcement Step 1 Describe the behavior or LE performance you want to reinforce. Step 2 Explain the positive impact that act has had on the 4 MP organization. Step 3 Help your feedback recipient take credit for his or her success. SA Step 4 Thank your recipient and encourage similar acts in the future. 45  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Step 1—Describe the Behavior or Performance You Want to Reinforce The more You should begin any reinforcement session with a description detail you are of the behavior or performance you would like to reinforce. able to give Remember, the purpose of giving reinforcement isn’t just to LE employees in make the other person feel good, it’s to describe the act you want the course of to reinforce in such a way that the person receiving the feedback reinforcement, will be able to repeat it. The more detail you are able to give the better they employees in the course of reinforcement, the better they will be will be able to able to repeat and build on their work. Consider these two sets repeat and of examples: Which responses do you think give the receivers of build on their the feedback enough information to repeat their performance? work. 1. “Thanks for reorganizing the files, Cindy. They look great!” “I’m very impressed with the way you’ve reorganized the files, MP Cindy. Organizing the files by dates makes them much easier to find, and I especially like the way you put the frequently used files on the bottom where we can all reach them.” 2. “Thanks for working overtime last night to proofread the report, June. I hope it didn’t keep you up too late.” “Thanks for the extra effort you put into proofreading the report this month, June. I especially appreciate the time you took to check all of the profit and loss figures—I notice you caught several significant errors.” In each example, the receivers of the second response will know exactly what they should do they next time they perform these SA tasks. 46  Steps for Giving Effective Step 2—Explain the Behavior’s Positive Impact Most of us like to know how our efforts fit into the big picture. Learning how Learning how our work supports the work of others helps us to our work see our importance to the group. supports the work of others LE Explaining the positive impact an employee’s actions have had helps us to see on the team or organization can help that person see the value of our importance his or her contribution and create extra incentive to repeat and to the group. develop that act. Again, the more information you can give the employee about the effect of his or her contribution, the more valuable your feedback will be. Consider the following example: “I know that with so many employees out sick this month, it took extra effort for you to get the quarterly report out on time. Thanks to your efforts, management had the information they needed to make some important decisions about hiring and 4 MP compensation; in fact, they approved the new assistant we’ve been hoping for in this division.” The employee receiving this reinforcement will know exactly how her hard work impacted her organization and her team. SA 47  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Step 3—Help Your Feedback Recipient Take Credit for Success “Oh, it was no big deal. I had a lot of help.” LE Although just about everyone craves positive reinforcement, it’s amazing how many people have trouble accepting it when it’s given to them. Many of us were raised with the attitude that accepting a compliment was similar to bragging, or perhaps we just have a hard time believing that we could actually do something right! Help those Help those you reinforce accept full responsibility for their you reinforce success. While you can acknowledge the contributions of others accept full if your feedback recipient mentions them, emphasize the full responsibility importance of your recipient’s role: MP for their “I realize that the entire team was involved in making the success. conference a success, but I want especially to thank you for all of your work arranging transportation. Thanks to you, all of the participants arrived in plenty of time to make their presentations.” As the above example illustrates, providing strong examples of the positive effects someone’s actions have had within the organization is a good way to help a modest person realize the significance of his or her efforts. Step 4—Thank and Encourage Your SA Feedback Recipient “Thank you” is still one of those magic expressions we love to hear, so be sure to say “thanks” whenever you present reinforcement. Including your thanks toward the end of your reinforcement, after you have described the act and its effect, can be particularly effective because it will be the last thing the employee takes away from the interaction. As you thank your feedback recipient, encourage him or her to keep up the good work. Make sure your feedback recipient knows that you hope to see the positive behavior or performance repeated in similar situations. 48  Steps for Giving Effective Take a Moment Think of someone you work with whose positive behavior or performance you would like to reinforce. With that individual in mind, decide what you intend to say at each step of the LE process. Describe the behavior or performance you want to reinforce. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Explain the positive impact the behavior or performance has had on the organization. _______________________________________________ 4 MP _______________________________________________ Help your feedback recipient take responsibility for his or her success. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Thank your feedback recipient for his/her contribution toward meeting individual, group, or organizational goals and encourage similar future behavior or performance. SA _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 49  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Basic Steps for Giving Redirection Redirection consists of six basic steps that will help your feedback recipient see the impact of his or her acts and plan for the future: LE 1. Describe the behavior or performance you want to redirect. 2. Listen to the reaction of your feedback recipient. Your feedback recipient may immediately admit there is a problem and take responsibility for it (Step 4), or you may need to... 3. Clarify your expectations for your feedback recipient’s behavior or performance. Or explain the negative effect those actions are having on the organization. 4. Help your feedback recipient to acknowledge that a problem MP exists and take responsibility for it. 5. Develop a plan that will help your feedback recipient adjust his or her actions. 6. Thank your feedback recipient for his or her efforts. The steps for giving redirection are summarized in the following flowchart. SA 50  Steps for Giving Effective Steps for Giving Redirection Step 1 Describe the behavior or performance you want to redirect. LE If your feedback If your feedback recipient is confused recipient is unwilling to about your expectations accept responsibility Step 2 Listen to your recipient’s reaction. 4 Step 3a Step 3b MP If your feedback Clarify your expectations for your Explain the negative effect of your recipient agrees that recipient’s behavior or performance. recipient’s actions. there is a problem Step 4 Help your recipient acknowledge that a problem exists and take responsibility for it. SA Step 5 Develop a plan for future action. Step 6 Thank your feedback recipient. 51  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Step 1—Describe the Behavior or Performance You Want to Redirect Once again, you should begin the feedback session with a description of the behavior or performance you want to redirect. If the act you are describing is ongoing, try to cite more than LE one instance of it so that your feedback recipient can get an idea of the extent of the problem, as in these examples: Behavior in need of redirection: “Bob, you were late to work three times this week and twice last week. You were also late five times last month.” Performance in need of redirection: “Martha, I found five typing errors in this letter you just finished, and you misspelled the client’s name. I also found typing errors in the last two letters you typed for me.” MP Notice that in both examples, the person giving the feedback simply describes the behavior or performance in question without making a value judgment or expressing anger or disappointment. Beginning your feedback in this way will keep your redirection focused on acts rather than attitudes. Step 2—Listen to the Reaction of Your Feedback Recipient Once you have given a detailed description of the behavior or performance you hope to change, give your feedback recipient a chance to respond. Three responses feedback recipients often give include acknowledging the problem, expressing confusion SA over expectations, or refusing to accept responsibility. 52  Steps for Giving Effective ◆ Acknowledging the problem Often, employees are aware of a problem and have been waiting for an opportunity to discuss it: “I know the formatting on the reports has been difficult to LE read. I’ve been trying to use the new software, but I just can’t figure out how to do it. Can someone show me how?” If you receive a response like this, it shows that your feedback recipient has taken responsibility for the problem and is ready to correct it. Congratulations—you have completed Step 4! No further discussion of your associate or coworker’s actions are necessary: the two of you can immediately begin to develop an action plan to correct the problem as described in Step 5. 4 ◆ Expressing confusion MP Of course, not all feedback sessions will resolve so quickly. Your feedback recipient may respond with confusion regarding your expectations. Perhaps your associate or coworker never understood (or was not given) a clear description of his or her job duties; perhaps expectations for the job have changed over time: “I didn’t realize that I was supposed to provide the figures by the beginning of the month—I thought that any time during the first week would be fine.” When you receive a response like this, your next step should be to clarify expectations with your feedback recipient, which SA we describe in Step 3a. 53  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback ◆ Refusing to accept responsibility Occasionally your feedback recipient may admit that a problem exists but refuse to take responsibility for it. We’ve all heard (and possibly given) responses like: LE “It’s not my fault! It’s the people in accounting.” “I’ll try to do better, but you know, there just isn’t enough time.” In situations like these, your challenge is to determine whether some outside factor is affecting your feedback recipient’s ability to do the job or if he or she is just making excuses. This is especially difficult if your associate or coworker is behaving defensively. Try to get past Try to get past your feedback recipient’s defensiveness and focus MP your feedback on the content of what he or she is saying. If there are factors recipient’s within the organization or work team that are keeping him or defensiveness her from meeting your expectations, use this time to address and focus on them. As your associates and coworkers see that you take their the content of viewpoints seriously, their responses will become less defensive what he or she and more cooperative. is saying. Of course, there will also be times when you listen to an associate’s or coworker’s explanation and determine that you must hold that person responsible for the problem. If your feedback recipient remains defensive, try to focus the conversation on the effects of his or her actions as we discuss in Step 3b—this is your best evidence that a problem exists. SA Step 3a—Clarify Your Expectations If your feedback recipient is surprised or confused by the expectations you and other team members have for his or her performance, take the time to clarify them. This might involve referring back to the original job description or reviewing the directions your recipient has received for performing certain tasks. 54  Steps for Giving Effective As you review your expectations, be sure to give your associate or coworker plenty of opportunity to respond. Be sure that your Be sure that feedback recipient agrees that the expectations are reasonable; if your feedback he or she doesn’t, you may need to point out that other people recipient in the organization are working just as hard, or you may need to agrees that the LE readjust your expectations in some way. Whatever you negotiate, expectations by the end of this step, you and your feedback recipient should are reasonable. agree on a set of reasonable expectations, and your feedback recipient should be ready to acknowledge his or her responsibility for meeting them. You can develop this further in Step 4. Step 3b—Explain the Action’s Negative Effect The best way you can help a defensive feedback recipient recognize the need to redirect his or her actions is by giving a thorough description of the effect those actions are having on 4 other members of your team or organization. Again, you should MP simply state the facts without expressing anger or making a value judgment. Here are examples that illustrate two descriptions we used earlier: “When you’re late, other employees have to fill in for you until you arrive. Joe had to work overtime twice this week until you arrived, and Sara had to cover for you last week. It isn’t fair to the others to expect them to cover for you, and it hurts the quality of our work to keep tired employees on duty after their shift is over.” “When we send out letters with typing errors, it looks as though we don’t care about our clients, especially when we misspell the clients’ names. We could lose business if our clients think SA we don’t value them.” Descriptions like these should help your feedback recipient see the impact of his or her behavior or performance and take responsibility for adjusting that action. If your recipient is especially defensive, keep returning to your examples until he or she is ready to accept responsibility and work out a plan to promote change. 55  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Step 4—Help Your Recipient Acknowledge That a Problem Exists and Take Responsibility for It You and the person to whom you are giving feedback cannot If you can get collaborate in redirecting behavior or performance until he or people to she acknowledges that a problem exists and takes responsibility LE recognize the for correcting it. You will know that you have this agreement negative when you hear your feedback recipient say something like, “Yes, consequences I agree, there is a problem here. What can I do about it?” or adverse impact of If your feedback recipient is slow to acknowledge the problem something they and accept responsibility, you should continue to present are doing, they evidence about the extent of the problem until you have will usually agreement. What kind of evidence can you use to convince your agree that it is recipient that a problem exists and that his or her behavior or a problem. performance needs to change? MP ◆ Stress the negative impact that the individual’s current performance or behavior is having on coworkers and the organization as a whole. ◆ Convince the individual that he or she will face significant consequences if the behavior or performance continues. If you can get people to recognize the negative consequences or adverse impact of something they are doing, they will usually agree that it is a problem. SA 56  Steps for Giving Effective Step 5—Develop an Action Plan The goal of any redirection is improving future performance and behavior. It isn’t enough just to point out the need for change to your feedback recipient—you also need to develop a specific plan to help him or her set and meet objectives. LE Although you should have some short- and long-term goals in Involve your mind before you begin your feedback session, you will want to feedback involve your feedback recipient in the planning process. One recipient in way you can do this is by stating an overall goal and then asking the planning for the other person’s input on how to meet that goal. Here is an process. example in which an administrative assistant redirects her manager’s difficulty with deadlines: Admin. Asst.: Ms. Wagner, I really want to get your correspondence typed on 4 MP time, but I have difficulty when you give me your tapes to transcribe a half hour before the mail has to go out. Is there some way you can give me more time? Manager: It’s difficult. Those are open cases, and I often don’t have the information I need until the last minute. Admin. Asst.: Well, could you let me know at the beginning of the day if you think you’ll need me to transcribe something? That way I could organize my work so that my last hour is free for your projects. Manager: I think I can do that. SA Though the administrative assistant might not have gotten as much time for her transcription as she would have liked, she was able to involve her manager in a solution that would help her organize her time effectively, which was her primary objective. When the manager remembers to tell her associate about upcoming transcription, the associate can reinforce that action by saying something like “Thanks for telling me so early. I can get much more done when I have the opportunity to organize my day in advance.” 57  Steps for Giving Effective Feedback Step 6—Thank Your Feedback Recipient for His or Her Efforts It can be hard to accept redirection. Show your feedback recipient that you appreciate his or her efforts by closing your redirection with a “thank you.” This can also be a good time to LE summarize your conversation and make plans for future meetings: “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about the sales figures. I really appreciate your willingness to spend an extra day on the road to do follow up, and I want to help you any way I can. Let’s get together when you’re in the office next week and see how things are going for you.” Staying on Track These steps for giving reinforcement and redirection will allow MP Don’t allow you to give useful, supportive feedback that focuses on acts yourself to get rather than attitudes. Following these steps should get you distracted in through even a potentially difficult feedback situation with a the course of minimum of stress. But the steps can help you only if you follow a feedback them. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted in the course of a session. feedback session. Even if your feedback recipient tries to steer the conversation onto other topics or becomes argumentative, focus on the steps. They will give your feedback session direction and ensure that you provide your recipient with as much useful information as possible. SA 58  Steps for Giving Effective Take a Moment Think of someone you work with whose behavior or performance you would like to redirect. With that in