Mandy Schumaker

PERFORMANCE COACH, TRAINER AND SPEAKER

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5 Things You Must Do When Giving Feedback To A Direct Report

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Did you know that current research shows that nearly 50% of executives fear confronting employees with constructive feedback?  If these research reports are accurate it’s no wonder so many of our companies are dealing with issues of low productivity, low morale, high turnover rates amongst high performing employees, and lower profits.

And not only do managers not like giving feedback, those on the receiving end say they don’t get enough feedback they can actually use. Or many times managers wait so long before addressing a situation, when they finally confront a direct report or colleague, they blow it because at that point the exchange is counterproductive.  Many reasons account for these disconnects: strong emotions on both sides, a focus on the employee’s character rather than on the behavior,  or a lack of clarity around what needs to change and why.

So what can managers do to improve their feedback skills?

1-Focus on outcomes — Make specific business outcomes  the focus of the conversation.  “You need to improve productivity by 20%” or “sales numbers must improve by 15% before the end of the quarter.”  Focusing on business results like productivity, sales, service, and turnover makes it an opportunity to solve a problem rather than to criticize.  Focusing the feedback on an employee’s development makes it a lot more helpful.  It may then be seen as a “gift” from a manager who is investing in the employee’s career.

2-Give feedback often — Giving feedback on a regular basis is a much better strategy than offering it only once or twice a year in a formal setting.  Waiting to give tough feedback during the annual performance appraisal is not only unfair to the employee, it also rarely changes the behavior.  Practice giving feedback often.  Praise good performance right away; deal with poor performance within 24 hours.

Before a feedback session, find concrete data that support your conclusions.  As best you can, focus on behaviors you have observed, preferably not those that you have heard about from others.

  • State observation/situation  “I want to talk to you about…
  • State Outcome  “I noticed that…” or “I felt that…”
  • Make your request  “What I would really like is…”

3-Be open to feedback and don’t assume you’re always right — Even after collecting all your data, there may still be several sides of the story.  When you are finished stating what want to talk about, what you noticed or observed and what you would like in terms of behavior change,  the employee will most likely have his or her side of the story. You may have to admit that you don’t have  the complete picture. Just as you want your employee to listen and be  influenced by what you say, you need to be willing to be influenced by what you hear.

4-Ask questions —To make this a two-way conversation between you and your employee and a worthwhile learning experience, ask questions to get the employee thinking:

How do you see the situation?
How might you do things differently next time?
What do you think worked, and what could have gone better?

Questions like these establish a supportive atmosphere in which the employee can explore alternative approaches that might produce better results. The more individuals think about improving their performance, the more committed they are to make it happen.

5-Follow through — Many managers are so relieved to be through with the initial conversation with the employee, they assume they are done.  Cross that one off the list.  But there’s a big difference between an employee understanding the situation and actually changing his or her behavior.  Your employee’s ability to make that transition requires your ongoing support and follow-up.  At the end of the feedback session, be sure to ask, “now what are the next steps you intend to take and how can I support you?”  It’s a great idea to plan a follow-up meeting in about a month.  And while you might suggest some specific steps employees might take,  it’s also beneficial to ask them to gather their own data by asking peers or their own direct reports for feedback.

Finally, in the spirit of continuous improvement it is always an excellent idea to ask the employee how he or she felt the conversation went and how you can be more helpful in the future. Don’t be afraid constructive feedback — embrace it and be a better manager.

Please remember:  Bea Fields and I will be offering our TOUGH COACHING program starting March 6 with a client who is both a CEO and an attorney (has dual careers) on the topic of someone who has been coached and has now slipped back into old habits.  This is going to be a fabulous 6-week program including online classes (telephone only), presenting guidelines, resources, assessments and coaching demonstrations to show you how to address tough issues with your clients.

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Video: Taylor Mali-What Teachers Make…

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I have had some very inspiring teachers in my life.  Sure there were a handful of mediocre ones, but many of them were excellent.  Those who inspired and motivated me, and raised the bar for me in a way that made me work harder, aim higher and hit many a mark.  I’ve always felt so grateful for those teachers that made such an impact on my life, but unfortunately have rarely had the opportunity to thank them in person for making a difference in my life.

While admittedly, there are many things wrong with our education system, one of the things I really cannot understand is the lack of respect, not to admit the low salaries, of many of our teachers in this country.  I was so pleasantly surprised on my first trip to Europe, what respect that continent shows its teachers and the profession as a whole.  In Europe, teachers are on a pedestal, held above medical doctors and scientists, and they earn more than those in the medical or science professions.   So it is hard to understand why in this country where our children are falling further and further behind children in other countries around the world, we want teachers making $50,000 a year to take a 20% paycut?  Again, many things can and should be improved in our education system in this country, and holding respect and honor for the teaching profession should be at the top of the list.

Today, someone sent this video to me.  It’s apparently been around for several years, but just recently has gone viral, so perhaps you’ve already seen it.  Today was the first day I viewed it-and I LOVED it.   In this video, Taylor Mali, teacher and slam poet does a marvelous job giving his opinion on what teachers make.  See for yourself and please feel free to leave a comment.


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU[/youtube]




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What Leadership Skills Could You Let Go Of?

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I have spent the last few weeks trying to convince my 3 1/2 and 7 year-olds that there are quite a few toys in our playroom that they probably no longer need and might want to consider giving away.  Things they’ve outgrown, like the early ride-on toys, or the baby pushsticks and the baby walker.  I’ve tried to explain that as we get bigger there’s certain toys and even behaviors that we can let go of, so we can make room for new toys and new behaviors that might fit much better where we are at a particular time.   As you can imagine, none of these conversations have gone over very well with either of them.  In fact, neither one is buying it and feel they need keep “everything we have” just for a little while longer.  This conversation did get me reflecting about our own “toys” and behaviors as leaders that may have gotten us to a certain place or position within the organization.  But are they still necessary in our current leadership roles or positions?   

I remember what it was like when I was promoted into my first executive role, from regional sales manager to national manager at a Northeast metropolitan newspaper.  The national manager’s role was considered part of the senior leadership team, and I was by far the youngest member of the group.  At 27, I had risen fairly quickly in my career, this new position being the fourth promotion and fourth newspaper since embarking on my newspaper career.  I share all this only to provide some context.   I  had risen to this postion primarily due to my  independence, agressiveness and technical sales and managerial skills — skills I quickly learned were not as valued or useful in my new role.

One of the biggest challenges for me in my new position was that while I knew the expectations for my performance in this executive role were very high, it was difficult to get a handle on what exactly was expected of me.  It seemed I was left to figure that out on my own, and that realization certainly came with a lot of frustration, stumbing blocks and quite frankly, egg on my face more times that I’d like to admit. 

Collaborating with my peers, versus acting independently, was a lesson learned.  My technical skills, while still important and valued, quickly took a back seat to new skills I needed to take on, such as becoming more strategically focused, coaching my team,  and learning to communicate more broadly.   I now had to look  at the organization from the outside in, instead of from the inside out.

As Scott Eblin writes in his “must read” book on this subject, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success:

“If success at the next level comes down to just one thing, it may be the art of strategic choice.  Making the choice to pick up a new behavior or belief or to let go of one that is no longer serving you requires the capacity to step back and ask yourself, ‘Given what I’m trying to do or accomplish, is this serving me?’  The people who are most successful in dealing with change or navigating the uncharted terrain of the next level are those who choose to step back and get some strategic perspective on what is working and what isn’t.  They then apply that perspective, not just to their career, but to their life as a whole.”

As coaches, we so often talk with our clients about what skills and certain types of behaviors might be missing from their toolkit.  But today I urge you to take a look at what you might stop doing that doesn’t serve you anymore; something that is, in fact, detrimental to your success as a leader in your organization.  What’s working for you and what isn’t.  What early ride-on toys, baby sticks or walkers can you give up?


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Is Consistent Feedback Part Of Your Leadership Style? (Part II)

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In Part I of this topic,  I noted how one woman business leader, taking part in a recent panel discussion, described her leadership style as, “Coaching, I coach constantly, giving feedback at every turn, both positive and constructive”. And while coaching is more than just giving feedback, providing feedback — both positive and constructive — on a consistent basis is the most one of the most important competencies of an excellent leader.  Many of the executives I work with tell me they either do not have the time to give feedback or they do not want to deal with the potential conflict or defensiveness that may arise from the conversation.   As I stressed in Part I of this post,  one of the most important responsibilities of your role as a leader — if not THE most important — is developing people.  That requires consistent, constructive feedback at every turn, which does take time.

What are other things a manager can do to improve feedback?

Focus on the outcomes

An excellent starting point when giving feedback is to focus on business results.  When you focus on a business result, increased sales,  increased service, developing talent, it becomes an opportunity to solve a problem rather than to criticize.  This approach also helps lessen a defensive reaction from the recipient because you are hanging your feedback on a business result, not on their character or personal traits.  Focus on your positive intent of the conversation.  “Julie, I’d like to give you some feedback to help mirror for you a behavior I’m seeing that you might not be aware of”.   You’ve set a positive intent for the conversation by telling Julie you want to “help her” see something that you’re not sure she’s aware of.  That’s very different than saying, “Julie,  I need to talk about your behavior at the meeting.  I didn’t like it at all”.  That approach sets a very different tone to your conversation and most likely will illicit a defensive reaction from Julie.

Describe your observations and the impact of the behavior

Describe specifically only what you have observed and the impact of the behavior.  “Julie, I’ve noticed in the past couple of staff meetings,  you haven’t participated or contributed to the conversation.  In fact, your body language and facial expressions have appeared to look angry. It’s off-putting to the other members of the team and I’d like to have a conversation concerning that issue to see if there’s something we need to air between us, or if there’s something else going on that I should k now about.”  In this example, you’ve told Julie specifically what you’ve observed, not attacked her personally, but relayed your positive intent on trying to get to the bottom of the anger.  You even suggested perhaps you are the target of the anger and would like to try and  resolve it if that is the issue.  You’ve also stated the impact of her behavior.  This is crucial step when giving feedback, it provides the connection between the behavior and how it effects the team, another employee, performance etc.  This gives the person on the receiving end of the feedback to understand how their behavior is impacting a situation, person or performance and with that comes a much greater chance of the employee to change or modify that behavior.

Focus the discussion on solution

If the employee  has not responded to your observations and feedback, ask for a response.  There must be a dialogue between the manager and employee for there to be a change in the behavior.  By creating an atmosphere where the two of you can have a discussion on solutions is also vital to impacting change.  While as the manager, you most certainly have some suggestions for solutions, let the employee initiate the list of possible solutions to the issue.  When a possible solution can come from the person who needs it, it is far more likely to get integrated and you will get the desired outcome on a lasting basis.

Reinforcement is most effective form of feedback

While often times an employee is able to integrate your feedback immediately and change happens quickly, many times it takes several feedback sessions of follow-up.  As a leader, it is very important to acknowledge when you observe a positive change with the employee.  Be sure not only to acknowledge it, but do so when immediately upon observation.

So take a few minutes and ask yourself, are you a leader providing consistent, constructive feedback?  Perhaps get some feedback from your direct reports and ask them that question…

If you would like to learn more about improving your feedback and coaching skills, contact me today for a consultation at 207.653.6977 or e-mail me at mandy@mandyschumaker.com.  I would welcome a conversation with you to see how I can help.

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Is Consistent Feedback Part Of Your Leadership Style? (Part I)

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I had the opportunity last week to listen to four very successful women leaders sitting on a panel answer this question:  What is your leadership style?  Their lists were fairly similar:  good listener, collaborative, communicative.  But the one answer I found most satisfying was the leader who said,  “Coaching, I coach constantly, giving feedback at every turn, both positive and constructive”.

And while coaching is more than just giving feedback, providing feedback — both positive and constructive — on a consistent basis is the most one of the most important competencies of an excellent leader.  For managers, it’s an important tool for shaping behaviors and driving better performance; for their direct reports,  its an opportunity for development and career growth.

So why do so many managers have trouble giving feedback?  And why do so many on the receiving end say they don’t get enough feedback they can actually use.  What are the reasons behind this disconnect?  Often times it’s strong emotions on both sides, and a focus on character rather than the behavior. Frequently it’s a lack of clarity around what needs to change and why.   Many of the executives I work with tell me they either do not have the time to give feedback or they do not want to deal with the potential conflict or defensiveness that may arise from the conversation.  But as someone once told me, “withholding feedback is like sending someone out to sea without a compass”.

What can a manager do to improve feedback?

Take the time

One of the most important responsibilities of your role as a leader — if not THE most important — is developing people. That requires consistent, constructive feedback at every turn, which does take time.  Developing the people in your organization through consistent coaching, training and conversation not only  develops a stronger team, but in the long run also brings more innovation, growth and profit to your company.  Find the time, make the time and give the time.  It is well worth it.

In part II, we’ll take a look at what constructive feedback looks like.  In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about improving your feedback and coaching skills, contact me today for a consultation at 207.653.6977 or e-mail me at mandy@mandyschumaker.com.  I would welcome a conversation with you to see how I can help.



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Video: The Force. Are Your Leadership Superpowers Working?

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Like many people, my favorite part of Superbowl Sunday is the commercials.  This year’s Volkswagen commercial, The Force, featuring a six-year old dressed up as Darth Vader working on his superpowers, really grabbed my attention (see video below). I loved this kid’s (Junior Darth Vader) tenacity, working all day trying to get a rise out of everything from the dog, to a doll, to the exercise bike. I can relate.   As a leader, we’re often called upon to use our “superpowers” many times a day-only to find that they don’t always work the way we’d hoped.  We work to motivate John to get him more engaged with his work, we coach Karen on her communication skills, and we work with the sales staff in hopes of getting them to bring in more revenue.  But often times all of this feels in vain, as if we can’t draw on the powers that allegedly got us in our leadership position in the first place.  It can feel exhausting, defeating and wearing on our self-confidence.

And then, out of the blue-BAM-there’s a spark, a jumpstart in our leadership abilities.  Something clicks and POOF-we’re back in the groove.  We’ve got our leadership mojo back.  We all have these times as leaders where it feels we’ve lost our superpowers. But it’s important as Junior Darth Vader teaches us, to keep trying, stay the course, be tenacious and keep looking for new opportunities to use our “superpowers”.  Something good is bound to happen.

It’s also important to remember that it’s the people supporting us, those with the “automatic starters” who are the most influential in helping us get back on track, regaining our self-confidence and helping us refocus on our vision and mission.  So the next time you question the power of your “superpowers” remember, keep trying, be tenacious, let those who want to help, help you… and you just may surprise yourself!!