Weekly Management Tips
An E Mail service from
Tim Connor, CSP
Speaker Trainer Author
Tip No. 48: Giving feedback.
One of the biggest weakness of poor managers is the willingness or ability to give timely, accurate and effective feedback to their employees. There are two types of feedback: positive - recognition and appreciation and negative - correcting or modifying behavior or discipline.
Most employees want to know how they are doing whether it is good work or work that needs improvement. No one like to operate in a vacuum.
It is amazing to me after working with hundreds of organizations over the past 30 years and observing or coaching thousands of managers, executives or business owners as to how many just don't get this very simple management principle. You get the behavior you reward. If you want positive behavior repeated, reward it. Let people know you appreciate their effort, dedication, energy, time etc. If you are getting negative behavior and you ignore it, it too will be repeated.
This is one of the concerns I have about annual reviews. If you have behavior from an employee that need modification, don't wait a year to fix it.
Part of the problem with negative feedback is that managers see it only as punishment or discipline. Negative feedback is designed to change or correct behavior that is inappropriate or wrong.
Always give negative feedback in private. Give positive feedback both publicly and privately. Publicly to build the self esteem of the individual receiving as well as sending a message to other employees that this behavior is what you are looking for and are willing to reward it. By giving positive feedback in private once in a while you don't send a message to other employees, that every time you take Sally or Bill into your office, that they are being punished.
Surveys have shown that most employees value praise, recognition and appreciation above higher wages and benefits. When managers have been surveyed, they believed that most employees see higher wages, job security and benefits as more important than this positive feedback.
I have just saved you a significant amount of corporate resources. Start giving more positive feedback and you will be amazed at the positive results you will get. Start giving more negative feedback when appropriate and watch productivity improve.
The willingness to give positive and negative feedback are often the outcome of your corporate culture.
Remember, all corporate culture, communication, attitudes are top-down. You can't fix these issues bottom-up.