Performance Management: Creating a Feedback Culture
Performance Management: Creating a Feedback Culture
So why doesn’t the same kind of performance management on the stage or field translate into the workplace? In a word? Perception. In two? It’s hard.
Unlike in corporate America, the professions where people “perform” for a living, coaching is not seen as a bad thing, nor is feedback. Criticism isn’t even considered negative. In fact, the performers rely on it, appreciate it, crave it and apply it. Why? To become better at what they do.
On a cognitive level, businesses get that. But in practice, it’s another story entirely. While companies send a message to employees that performance is everything, it’s a mixed one at best, because they don’t know how to execute a strategy that aligns what they say with what they do. So when it comes time to actually confront what it will take to drive talent forward and shape skills, organizations by nature, shy away.
Think about it. For every move an athlete makes, scrutiny is attached and corrections are made when necessary. Or, take a ballet class for instance. Dancers are told when they execute something well and also when they don’t, not to make them feel bad, but to help them perform better the next time. The instruction itself is the bridge to achievement that produces results that please everyone; from the performer, to the teacher/coach to the audience. It’s a simple and straightforward story of improvement, progression and reaching the next level that leads to the kind of optimal performance that most businesses want, but only a few obtain. Instead, feedback exists in corporate America today as something to fear, dread and hate.
The best thing organizations can do is start to dispel the myth that feedback is bad by not tippy toeing around it. Adopting avoidance as a strategy will only ensure that both individual and organizational potentials are never met. So the key is to take a page from the handbooks of the pros and create cultures where employees want to hear the truth about how they are doing, not only for the good of their own performance, but also for the good of the “game.” It is no small undertaking, but one well worth the “sweat.”
A three-pronged approach:
1. From an individual perspective, it is critical that people don’t take feedback personally. Take it as a means of learning.
2. From the team perspective, managers need to provide coaching in the spirit of improving performance, not naming flaws or faults or trying to change what makes someone who he/she is. Use it as a means of instruction.
3. From an organizational perspective, companies need to recognize and reward people who have the courage to remain open to giving and receiving constructive performance feedback. Exploit it as a way to develop talent and manage performance.
Performance Management Creating a Feedback Culture - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Flagg's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
If only businesses had the same knack for cultivating human performance as other performance-driven professions such as the sports and arts industries. It’s not that the effort or good intentions aren’t there. Not at all. Businesses have long been investing plentiful resources in hopes to maximize employee performance. And while they are providing training, performance reviews and incentives, it’s the kind of feedback, instruction and practicing-to-advance (until it hurts) that is inherent to sports and the arts which has eluded organizations since the birth of bureaucracy.
So why doesn’t the same kind of performance management on the stage or field translate into the workplace? In a word? Perception. In two? It’s hard.
Unlike in corporate America, the professions where people “perform” for a living, coaching is not seen as a bad thing, nor is feedback. Criticism isn’t even considered negative. In fact, the performers rely on it, appreciate it, crave it and apply it. Why? To become better at what they do.
On a cognitive level, businesses get that. But in practice, it’s another story entirely. While companies send a message to employees that performance is everything, it’s a mixed one at best, because they don’t know how to execute a strategy that aligns what they say with what they do. So when it comes time to actually confront what it will take to drive talent forward and shape skills, organizations by nature, shy away.
Think about it. For every move an athlete makes, scrutiny is attached and corrections are made when necessary. Or, take a ballet class for instance. Dancers are told when they execute something well and also when they don’t, not to make them feel bad, but to help them perform better the next time. The instruction itself is the bridge to achievement that produces results that please everyone; from the performer, to the teacher/coach to the audience. It’s a simple and straightforward story of improvement, progression and reaching the next level that leads to the kind of optimal performance that most businesses want, but only a few obtain. Instead, feedback exists in corporate America today as something to fear, dread and hate.
The best thing organizations can do is start to dispel the myth that feedback is bad by not tippy toeing around it. Adopting avoidance as a strategy will only ensure that both individual and organizational potentials are never met. So the key is to take a page from the handbooks of the pros and create cultures where employees want to hear the truth about how they are doing, not only for the good of their own performance, but also for the good of the “game.” It is no small undertaking, but one well worth the “sweat.”
A three-pronged approach:
1. From an individual perspective, it is critical that people don’t take feedback personally. Take it as a means of learning.
2. From the team perspective, managers need to provide coaching in the spirit of improving performance, not naming flaws or faults or trying to change what makes someone who he/she is. Use it as a means of instruction.
3. From an organizational perspective, companies need to recognize and reward people who have the courage to remain open to giving and receiving constructive performance feedback. Exploit it as a way to develop talent and manage performance.
Performance Management Creating a Feedback Culture - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Flagg's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
|
I've created this section on my site to share some of the incredible tools that I've used to build my business. I hope you too can benefit from them and look forward to hearing your feedback on the reviews! - Visit Evan Carmichael's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Donna's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Acronym Soup Business Success By Design Optimize For Ask Checklist Addictive Entrepreneurship Federal and State Laws |
|
 | ||
 |
Fortune Hunters
CBC Entrepreneur TV | |
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
