by admin | Mar 15, 2015
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by admin | May 7, 2014 | Newsletter
The Power of Positive Feedback
Many business leaders miss a key opportunity to recognize great work and provide positive feedback. Why is it so easy to see what’s not working and so hard to celebrate when people get it right? Recognizing team members will not only enhance your organizational growth; but also helps retain great employees. Regardless of business size, correctly given; recognizing others early and often can help improve job performance, promote professional and personal growth, and ultimately increases overall morale.
Here are some tips to help you along the way
- Never hesitate. Share encouraging words often and loudly. Believe it or not… It is often worth more than money.
- Make it public. Constructive feedback can be given privately. Recognition is often more powerful when given in public.
- Be specific. Focus on exactly what was done right. We all know it is easy to call people out when they do something wrong, but what about calling out people when they do something right?
Positive feedback goes along way to growing and reinforcing any relationship. And, like smiling, it cost nothing.
Feedback Do’s and Don’ts
Feedback Do’s
- Be Specific. What did the person actually say or do? Was the statement or action was effective or ineffective?
- When offering developmental feedback; provide or seek alternatives the person can use in the future. Discuss why the alternatives might result in enhanced performance. Provide support, but allow responsibility for developing to remain with the person.
- Provide feedback on both the “what” and the “how”. What are the results? What did the person say or do to achieve or not receive the results?
- Think of feedback as a learning opportunity that can lead you and others to better performance.
- Listen with full attention to the feedback people provide. Focus more attention on understanding their perspectives and suggestions than on defending your action or behaviors.
- When receiving feedback, ask for specific examples of what you did well and what you could have done better.
- Watch for trends in behavior to focus on high-payoff development areas.
Feedback Don’ts
- Don’t assume you are the only and best source of feedback. Encourage people to seek feedback from peers, internal partners, customer and other leaders.
- Don’t give vague feedback or feedback that cannot be supported with data or examples.
- Don’t say someone did something well when you don’t believe it.
- Don’t guess at someone’s motives.
- Don’t become defensive about your actions.
by admin | May 5, 2014 | Newsletter
Feedback – What Works and What Doesn’t?
Do you like receiving feedback? How do you prefer to get feedback?
Think of a time when someone gave you helpful feedback. How did the conversation go? What did the person providing the feedback do to make it a productive conversation?
My guess is that you appreciated feedback that was:
- Timely – We tend to be more willing to accept suggestions that are timely. When we face difficult or challenging situations, we usually want to know how we are doing, and what we can do to develop. On the other hand, no one wants to hear what he or she could or should have done long after the fact.
- Balanced— I am sure you appreciated getting some positive feedback as well as suggestions for development.
- Beneficial— We think of feedback for development as information that helped me be the best I can be, not just comments that pointed out a performance problem.
- Sincere— The most effective feedback that I ever got was from someone that I knew really cared about me and took the time to share specific changes that I could make to be more effective.
- Engaging—They encouraged me to take responsibility for my own growth and learning by actively creating an environment that constantly helped me seek feedback from my leader, peers, and customers.
- Ongoing— Feedback shouldn’t be a one-time event. For top performers (like us!), ongoing feedback can address new challenges and achieve success FASTER!
Now, flip it and think of a time when you received feedback and you got defensive… why did that happen? How was the message delivered?
Next steps: Take 10 minutes to create your own list.
First, think about the best feedback you ever received and model that style. Then, think about what not to do… and don’t do it.
Believe me … it’s easier said than done.
by admin | Apr 8, 2014 | Newsletter, Trust
Simple Ways to Use Recognition to Power and Reinforce Success
With so many ways to recognize people for their contributions, we need to mix it up. Avoid getting stale and keep it engaging. As effective as it can be, this might go beyond a simple “thank you.” There are many ways to recognize people. You will find many ideas laid-out below.
General Approaches to Ensure Effective Recognition
Be timely–Recognition that has the most impact is timely and comes in close proximity to when the performance happened.
Be specific–Share specifics related to the accomplishment by telling the person what was done and why it was effective.
Link the recognition–Mention the specific performance or behavior that you want to reinforce. It is important that people know why they are being recognized.
Avoid multi-tasking when you talk with employees–Especially when the discussion is about their accomplishments and contributions.
Make recognition a set agenda topic–Place recognition on the schedule during team meetings. Make sure the recognition is meaningful or it will start to have no meaning.
Reward effort as well as success–Not everything is successful. Reward people for the obstacles and barriers they overcame or fought against.
Oh, Let Me Count the Ways to Recognize
Leverage the customer–If a customer says something good to you about your employees or a project. Invite them to share in-person or remotely with your team, particularly the people involved.
Utilize social networks–Post recognition on social networks. Before you use an outside site, check first to make sure it is company approved.
Grab It–Start building a supply of token gifts, such as candy bars, protein bars, etc. Place them in a box, or grab bag. When you recognize someone, let the person reach in and grab something, sight unseen. Add to the fun by mixing in coupons. For example, give coupons for a free lunch, or one item from the vending machine. If it works in the environment, you might even be able to wrangle a coupon for the parking space next to the door, or an opportunity to leave the facility an hour early.
Match the reward–The significance of the achievement should match the reward. The larger the accomplishment, the more significant the reward should be.
Make the recognition public–If others can learn from the accomplishments, or the employee would feel a greater impact from sharing the recognition publicly, by all means, don’t keep it a secret.
Chalk It Up–On a chalkboard, white board, parking lot, or driveway, write a message of appreciation.
Flip It Up–Write a thank you on a flip chart paper. Post it in the hall or on the person’s car.
Snack out–Supply the team with healthy snacks and juices for a week.
Get Symbolic—Find something that has meaning within the group to pass around. Use a super-hero for the person who really came through on a project. Or the “rock” for a person who has been impeccably dependable.
Make them laugh–Support a local artist or an art student by asking that person to draw caricatures of your employees during their break/lunch hour and display them in your facility.
Create a traveling trophy— Select an unusual item to use as a recognition award. The person recognized can display the trophy for a select period of time. Or the awardee can recognize someone within the team and pass it on. Consider an item that each recipient can autograph before it travels on.
Write a thank you note–Deliver this note to your employees’ spouse or children.
Spread the news–Place employee recognitions on your intranet. Share the news with higher-level leaders, or in a team management meeting. Arrange for your team or a member of your team to present an innovation or continuous improvement idea that has worked in your area to other facilities.
Perform a service–Take somebody’s laundry to the dry cleaners or wash the employee’s car in the parking lot.
Gift it–Create a basket linked to an individual’s interest. For example, if a person like to garden, create a basket with some gardening tools, a gardening book or magazine. If the employee likes to fish, put in a thermos, some fishing lures, etc.
Swap a task–Do another employees duties for a day. Let him or her decide.
Nominate the employee— Pick various employees for either a company or community award.
Provide points–Set goals for employees. If an employee reaches a goal, let them turn in their accumulated points for prizes or awards.
Create a space–Create a celebration board in the break room or team area. Post recognitions and thank-you notes. At a periodic meeting, count how many notes are on the celebration board.
Take the person into consideration–Don’t give a book to someone who doesn’t like to read. Avoid public recognition for someone who tends to get embarrassed. Tailor your form of recognition to meet the individual’s needs.
by admin | Mar 10, 2014 | Work Ethics
5 Things to Include in a Performance Discussion
March is the most common time to sit down for an annual conversation around employee performance and evaluation. Although these conversations should not take place merely once a year, this is an opportune time to consider what should be discussed in a performance feedback conversation.
What is going well?
This is certainly a time to recognize and share strengths in the areas a person possesses. What can your employees continue to do that will result in further success? Conversations around performance are a time to provide reinforcement to ensure positive behaviors will continue. How can this person best capitalize on strength areas that are really working?
What can be improved upon?
No discussion would be complete without touching on areas where improvement is needed. Communicating alternative approaches is effective. It motivates employees; and is an essential part of any discussion. Some leaders shy away from this line of discussion as it can be uncomfortable. Failure to do this, leaves an employee left with an incomplete picture of performance and little information on how to improve.
What are the expectations for the next performance cycle?
As you talk about progress on previously set goals or objectives; it is only natural that future expectations will come up. What clarity can you provide on those expectations? How will you determine if the expectations have been successfully achieved? What type of measurements in terms of cost, quality, productivity, or timeliness can be clarified?
What support is needed from you (the leader) to be successful?
This is not about taking responsibility away from someone. It is about understanding what the person needs from you, the leader. Perhaps there is a resource you are able to secure or a barrier that needs to be addressed by you in order for the person to be successful. If they are new to a task, just being available to run things by you can make a significant difference. Be sure to get the employee’s perspective on this one.
What not to include: Surprises!
Don’t blindside employees with information in a performance review that you have never mentioned. Not only is it not helpful, but it can be demotivating. A better way to approach an annual discussion is to make it a culmination or summary of the year. This should include discussions you have engaged in throughout the time period. Saving up your insight and delivering it once a year creates missed opportunities. The employee could have been acting on your feedback in a more timely fashion. Make those feedback discussions well-timed, and have them in regular cadence. These discussions will have a solid impact, and you will see a strong professional employee.
