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Effective Feedback Reduces Defensiveness & Helps Employees Succeed
By Joan Lloyd
I have a new employee who is an excellent addition to our staff. I'll call him Pat. He joined my department six months ago. The problem is that he is alienating his coworkers. I am receiving numerous complaints about his superiority and arrogance. People are starting to avoid him and don't want to work with him. I would call his overall behavior trying to "rescue" the department.
(read more...)
Motivating Yourself - How Do You Look at Challenges?
By Cindy Ventrice
If you are feeling unmotivated lately, you're not alone. Managers and team leaders have less time to worry about motivating the people who work with them. Anxiety levels are high, tempers are short, and few people are as focused and productive as they want to be.
(read more...)
101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work: Tip #5
By John Putzier
Post-Nuptials
Most employers, who conduct exit interviews, do them during the person's last days or even on their last day of employment. Although this is better than not doing one at all, it doesn't really serve your purposes as well as it could.
(read more...)
Effective Feedback Reduces Defensiveness & Helps Employees Succeed (^ top)
By Joan Lloyd
I have a new employee who is an excellent addition to our staff. I'll call him Pat. He joined my department six months ago. The problem is that he is alienating his coworkers. I am receiving numerous complaints about his superiority and arrogance. People are starting to avoid him and don't want to work with him. I would call his overall behavior trying to "rescue" the department. He acts like he knows all the answers and constantly refers back to his prior experience at his former employer and how he solved many problems there. It's as if he is saying, "I am smarter than you are and I know how to solve every problem."
I think I may have caused some of the problem. When I interviewed him, he was informed of some of the problems our department faces. I made it clear that he was being hired, in part, because of his background that could help us fix some of the problems. (We work in the IT department of a large insurance company.)
He is a specialist and has no direct supervisory responsibilities but he does lead several project teams that have been assigned some key areas to fix. In one of those teams, several of our "customers" are members. Recently, one of those customers made a comment to me, "How do you think Pat is working out?" I told her I thought he was doing fine. She then said, "I'm surprised he made it beyond the probationary period. You must be seeing something that I'm not seeing." She went on to give me similar examples that I hear from other people. I was very upset by this because this customer is very important to our success.
Now I'm feeling as if I've made a terrible mistake. But what can I do? Our company doesn't fire many people and his job performance has been fine. It's his attitude that is creating all these problems for himself. I've suggested that he needs to get to know people and listen to their ideas but he doesn't seem to be listening. Do you have any suggestions? If he doesn't change soon, he may never recover from the damage he is doing to himself.
Answer:
There's nothing wrong with telling a new employee that there are problems to solve and you need his help. Where you might be making a bigger mistake is not telling him exactly what he is doing and how it is interfering with his desired goals.
You say his performance is "fine," but it isn't even close to fine. If he is alienating people in his position, he can't be doing fine. He is expected to lead teams where people feel they are valued, satisfy customers' expectations, and build and execute solutions as a team. None of his technical skills are going to get used if no one can stand working with him. In fact, you are starting to see he is creating more problems than he is fixing.
It's time to plan a meeting where you can tell him the truth about what is happening. The things to remember are:
- Describe his behavior; don't judge it.
- Tell him exactly how it is hurting him.
- Have plenty of examples to illustrate your point.
- Use first-hand examples, if you have them. Things you've actually observed. Using co-worker feedback can backfire and make the team interaction worse.
- Tie the feedback to his desire to have his projects succeed.
- Assume he has positive intentions and say so.
- Role-play situations with the employee and show him specific alternative methods/language you want him to use.
I could sound like this: "Pat I know you are working hard to pull your team together to fix the X system problems." (His goal)
"But I've been noticing something that is getting in the way and I want to talk with you about it."
"When you are leading Team Y, I have observed you taking a dominant role and not listening to the ideas some of the team members are giving. I've seen you interrupt Jack and others several times and talk over them. When Sue offered an idea you said, "I've tried that before and I know it doesn't work. In my old job we never would have even suggested trying that." She stopped talking and she was quiet for the rest of the meeting. Your comment shut down the open discussion the group was having. Then you went on to go into detail about your solution. (Describe his behavior and give examples.) I don't think your intention (assume positive intentions) is to alienate people but I can see it happening."
"If you don't change your approach, I'm concerned that people won't want to work with you on this team or other projects. (How it's hurting him) I've heard comments from a customer that indicates that she doesn't think you listen to her or others. I won't be able to put you on key projects that involve the customer if you can't modify your behavior (how it's hurting him) and I know that's not what you want." (assume positive intent.). Ask him to come to you for coaching, when he has questions on how to handle specific situations. Set up a follow up date for the two of you to discuss his progress.
Giving negative feedback and holding employees accountable for change is always one of the most challenging tasks of a manager. Done well, it can reduce defensiveness while helping your employee to succeed.
Joan Lloyd has a solid track record of excellent results. Her firm, Joan Lloyd & Associates, specializes in leadership development, organizational change and teambuilding. This includes executive coaching, 360-degree feedback processes, customized leadership training, team assessment and teambuilding and meeting and retreat facilitation. Clients report results such as: behavior change in leaders, improved team performance and a more committed workforce. Email your question, for consideration for publication to info@joanlloyd.com (800) 348-1944. Visit her article archive with more than 1200 articles JoanLloyd.com or her online store for her management, career and job hunting tools. (c) Joan Lloyd & Associates
Motivating Yourself - How Do You Look at Challenges? (^ top)
By Cindy Ventrice
If you are feeling unmotivated lately, you're not alone. Managers and team leaders have less time to worry about motivating the people who work with them. Anxiety levels are high, tempers are short, and few people are as focused and productive as they want to be.
Layoffs, overstated earnings reports, industries in crisis, every day there are stories in the news that cause us worry. Most of us relate to news about the economy based on our perspective as someone who is:
- Employed, but uncertain about future job security.
- Secure in your job, but feeling overworked.
- Un-employed or under-employed.
Each category has its own motivation challenges, but staying motivated is crucial to our personal job security. The employed can't afford to succumb to malaise. Most have to stay ahead of an ever-increasing workload in order to prove their value to their organizations. The un-employed and under-employed need to keep motivated in order to find steady work.
There are many things you can do to keep yourself motivated during uncertain times. One of the most important is to reframe your perceptions of the challenges we face.
Challenges as Opportunities
How many times have you heard this statement? "Let's not think of this as a challenge. Let's consider it an opportunity." Sometimes you should view challenges as opportunities, but sometimes you probably feel like you have had a few more "opportunities" than you can stand. Most of the time, when you are right in the middle of it, a challenge feels like, well, a challenge, a pain in the neck, something to get through.
When this is the case, then go ahead and simply get through it. Don't listen to the excuses of that procrastinating (or critical) little voice in your head. Break the challenge into manageable pieces, find little ways to reward yourself as you complete each piece, and keep your perspective throughout.
When the challenge has passed look for two things: lessons learned and successes achieved.
Lessons Learned
When you don't meet a particular challenge in a way that makes you proud, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this that will help me grow?" For myself, I'm in a position of leadership in my professional association. Although I try to do my best, my performance isn't always stellar. My leadership gaffes, on occasion, have included dumping projects on people instead of delegating them, praising one person and inadvertently upsetting another, and failing to use all the resources available to me.
While I've tried to look at each of these situations to see what I can do to correct the problem, I've also tried to find the management lesson in each. Look for the lesson. It's a more motivating perspective than focusing on your short-comings and can help you rise to similar challenges more effectively in the future.
Successes Achieved
Sometimes you come through a challenge with a huge success. Other times the success seems insignificant, but it's a success nonetheless. When you achieve a success of any size, what do you do? If you are like most people, you ignore it. Big mistake!
To motivate yourself, you have to be willing to recognize yourself. In my book, Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works, an entire chapter is devoted to self-recognition. Self-recognition is a very powerful but under-used tool.
A few organizations, such as Graniterock in Watsonville, California, do an excellent job of encouraging self-recognition. Every year, Graniterock People do formal presentations showing off their successes. It's just one of the ways they are encouraged to recognize themselves.
If you are like most people, you don't have many formal opportunities for self-recognition. That doesn't mean you can't recognize yourself anyway. Tell others about your accomplishments. There is nothing wrong with announcing in your team meeting, "I'm happy to report I have finished my certification training," or telling a friend, "Wow, that was a difficult job interview, but I think I presented myself well."
Look for other, more subtle ways to recognize yourself. For instance, you can recognize your value and potential by providing yourself with opportunities to learn and grow. When your employer provides the training you want, don't you feel they are recognizing your value to the organization? You do the same thing when you invest in your own training.
Keep a journal of your accomplishments. If you are feeling particularly unmotivated, force yourself to note at least one success every day. It doesn't have to be huge. Every success is noteworthy. It might be nothing more than connecting with two people in your network or cleaning off your desk.
The important thing is that you note something. At the end of the week, go back and review what you have written. Forcing yourself to identify your successes is motivating. So is rereading past successes. They can build up your confidence when you need it most.
When reviewing a challenge that you have just completed, resist the urge to focus on what went wrong. Instead, look for the lessons learned and the successes achieved. You'll feel better prepared to take on the next "opportunity" that comes your way.
Sidebar - Tips for Motivating Yourself
- Get a friend or colleague who will hold you accountable. If you know someone will be asking you about your progress, it can motivate you to have something to report.
- Break tasks into manageable pieces. Big challenges can appear less daunting when you separate them into smaller tasks.
- Do a little analysis. If there is a particular challenge that you are avoiding, see if you can't figure out what is holding you back. It might give you greater perspective on how to proceed. Just don't get caught by analysis paralysis!
- Look for the lessons. When things don't go exactly as you planned, don't beat yourself up thinking what you should have done differently. Ask yourself what can learn from the experience, but remember to look forward, not backwards as you review your performance.
- Reward yourself. As you complete each task, reward yourself. When you meet the challenge, think big! Find some way to celebrate your success.
Cindy Ventrice is a management consultant, speaker, and workshop leader with nearly 20 years of experience. She focuses exclusively on helping organizations improve operations, products, and services by improving workplace relationships and employee morale. Her book, Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works, is available through any bookseller. You can contact Cindy at cventrice@maketheirday.com.
101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work: Tip #5 (^ top)
By John Putzier
Post-Nuptials
Most employers, who conduct exit interviews, do them during the person's last days or even on their last day of employment. Although this is better than not doing one at all, it doesn't really serve your purposes as well as it could. Instead of an instant exit interview (which is for you, not them), send flowers or some other gift to their home (not to their new employer!) congratulating them and wishing them well in their new job. Now, that makes a statement!
Then, wait a couple of weeks after they have started their new job and then send them your exit questionnaire. Better yet, set up a phone interview; or best, arrange to meet them over coffee (or, for techies, M&M's, Coke or beer) to discuss it. Not only will they be more candid, but also they, and you will have a better sense of how their new job and employer compares. Just as in last week's idea called "Weird Questions for Weird People," try to approach this more as a conversation than an interview.
This is your opportunity to start planting some seeds for their return (aka "Boomerang Strategies) particularly if the honeymoon is over and their period of blissful ignorance has started to wane. Watch for more ways to plant those seeds in coming weeks: (Bridge Over Troubled Waters; Get Out of Jail Free Card; Missing You; Opportunity Knocks)
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