Truth or Consequences: How To Give Performance Feedback
 |
Free Download - Online Sexual Harassment Training: A Wise Investment By Judith Lindenberger |
In the bestseller, Good to Great, Jim Collins discovered that, "the good-to-great companies continually refined the path to greatness with the brutal facts of reality."
And, in his recent autobiography, Jack Welch reports that he spent about half of his time on people: recruiting new talent, picking the right people for particular positions, grooming young stars, developing managers, dealing with under performers, and reviewing the entire talent pool.
Says Welch, "Having the most talented people in each of our businesses is the most important thing. If we don't, we lose."
Why is it that many of us put off giving feedback to our employees even though we intuitively know that giving and getting honest feedback is essential to grow and develop and to build successful organizations? Maybe it is because there are so many ways to screw it up.
Here are ten common feedback mistakes:
1. Speaking out only when things are wrong. "Praise to a human being represents what sunlight, water and soil are to a plant - the climate in which one grows best." - Earl Nightingale
2. "Drive-by" praise without specifics or an honest underpinning. - "Great job!"
3. Waiting until performance or behavior is substantially below expectations before acting on it.
4. Giving positive or negative feedback long after the event has occurred.
5. Not taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings and reactions. "This comes straight from the boss."
6. Giving feedback through e-mail messages, notes, or over the telephone.
7. Giving negative feedback in public.
8. Criticizing performance without giving suggestions for improvement.
9. No follow up afterwards.
10. Not having regularly scheduled performance review meetings.
Giving and receiving clear and constructive feedback requires courage and skill, and is essential to building good relationships with and motivating peak performance from your team.
Here are four tips for how to do right:
1. Be proactive. Nip issues in the bud and avoid the messy interpersonal tangles that result from neglected communication. Meeting with employees on a monthly or quarterly basis instead of annually, for example, conveys, "Your success is important to me, so I want to be accessible to you."
2. Be specific. It's never easy to provide negative feedback regarding someone's work, but as a leader you can't avoid it. Be as clear as possible when providing feedback (both positive and negative). Give specific examples that illustrate your points.
For example: Instead of saying, "Your attitude is bad" or "That didn't work," you might say something like, "When you miss deadlines, then cross your arms and look away when I discuss it with you, it gives me the impression that you don't care about the quality of your work. I'd like to believe this isn't true. Can you help me explain this better?"
3. Develop a progress plan. Be clear about the specific changes in behavior that you expect in a specific period of time, and follow up as scheduled.
4. Link employees' performance to organizational goals. Reinforce the value of your employees' contributions by giving specific examples of how their work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.
If you are not doing these things, why would anyone else in your organization do them? Craft a performance appraisal process that encourages truth or consequences.
Truth or Consequences How To Give Performance Feedback - To learn more about this author, visit Judith Lindenberger's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| Article Tags: |
 | |
 |
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
Marcus ArkanMarcus Arkan currently serves as the President/Principle Broker of Syndicate Mortgages Inc. After working with a number of Canada's top financial institutions, the experience and knowledge he gained throughout his professional career combined with his drive and entrepreneurial spirit led him to develop his own company. The operation began in 2003 in the basement of his home and now has flourished into a successful corporation with a head office in one of Metropolitan Toronto's busiest sectors and 10 branch locations employing over 100 mortgage professionals. His organization is now one of Ontario's leading mortgage brokerages specializing in residential, commercial, and construction financing. He holds the designation of Accredited Mortgage Professional from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. This allows him to differentiate himself from other mortgage originators and demonstrates his commitment to the highest standards of industry performance. For more information on Mr. Arkan and his Syndicate Mortgages Inc., please visit www.syndicatemortgages.com. - Visit Marcus Arkan's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Judith'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 |
|
|
 |
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 3 C's of Networking 100 Success Tips Interview Coaching Instant Business Letter 3 Deadly Traps |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||