Now that you’re a manager, your job is to get results through your team members and guide them to perform at their best. However, many managers struggle to get their team committed to doing their work to the best of their abilities. Why does this happen?
Transitioning into a managerial role requires acquiring a new set of skills. You need to become an expert at delegating, build trust within and among your team, learn how to set SMART goals, become a good coach, and master the art of providing constructive feedback.
These may seem like daunting responsibilities, but all these skills can be learned. For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on a very important one that many managers are afraid of and tend to overlook: Give feedback!
When you give and receive constructive feedback, you’re able to address problems early, hold everyone (including yourself) accountable, and encourage and empower your team to deliver their best.
However, many managers postpone or avoid feedback altogether because they dread having difficult conversations with their team members. What they’re really doing is leaving their team adrift and unaware of areas that need improvement. This lack of communication can lead to confusion, frustration, and, ultimately, poor performance.
This reluctance often results from a lack of experience and practice, which can be overcome with dedication and time. As you become a great communicator and cultivate genuine relationships, your team will understand that constructive feedback comes from a place of non-judgment and respect and will recognize its benefits. Eventually, they will actively seek feedback to stay productive and improve their performance.
How To Give Feedback
As a new manager, feedback is the best tool for assessing your team’s performance on a regular basis. If done consistently, you will be able to observe whether or not progress is being made toward goals, delegate with more confidence, and take action. Making it a habit will foster a more engaged, productive, and purposeful environment.
Whether you are providing positive or constructive feedback, there are some simple things you can do to ensure it is received well.
- Make sure the person is ready to receive the feedback. For example, make sure this is a good time to talk. You never know what’s going on with folks, so allow for the fact that this may not be a good time, and if it isn’t, schedule some time for later.
- Always give feedback (and coaching) in private. Delivering feedback in a crowded break room is a bad move and will undermine the relationship you have built with your team members.
- Be objective. Describe facts in neutral terms and explain why a behavior is ineffective, its corresponding impact, and how it can be improved.
Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI)™ Model
There are tons of models out there to help you give feedback. Why do you need a model? A model gives you some structure to deliver clear and effective feedback, where you get your message across, and the recipients understand what you’re saying as well as what’s expected of them.
The Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI)™ model is a good place to start because it helps managers reduce the anxiety of delivering feedback and reduces the recipient’s defensiveness.
Here is how it works:
Situation: Be specific and describe the circumstances. Avoid words such as always, often, or never.
Behavior: Describe the facts and what you personally observed without statements that convey opinion or judgment. Pretend you’re replaying a video you recorded on your phone. Just describe what the person said or did, no more.
Impact: Then share, without harsh words or judgment, how the behavior affected you, your team, your client, and the business. Explain your feelings and be open to hearing the other side of the story.
Here’s an example of positive feedback that I actually gave my designer:
“When you created the slides for this class” (Situation), “you used fantastic design techniques and anticipated what would be most helpful to learners” (Behavior), “and I think that resulted in a more robust presentation that will engage learners and keep them from tuning out. Thank you!” (Impact).
This also works for constructive feedback:
“When you gave your presentation at the team meeting today,” (Situation) “you appeared unprepared, stumbling over your words and getting lost in your notes,” (Behavior), “and I think that resulted in people tuning out and not hearing the great data you had to share.” (Impact).
If you want to go one step further, you can enhance the model by inquiring about the original intention behind the behavior. Asking what that person was hoping to accomplish with that particular action helps you understand the intent vs. the impact and build trust.
Handling Negative Reactions When You Give Feedback
When you give constructive feedback to a direct report, you will likely get a negative response. The person may assume you’re attacking them as a person or bring up other issues unrelated to the feedback you’re giving. Why?
As a new manager, you will be dealing with each team member’s history with prior managers. If a previous manager disappointed a team member, they may hold it against you, though you have done nothing to deserve that projected disappointment. Trust building will eventually overcome such management “hangovers.”
In the meantime, at Girard Training Solutions, we use a great technique from the book Crucial Conversations called Contrasting. Contrasting is a “Don’t/Do” statement you can use to clarify any misconceptions or misunderstandings the other person may have. It helps you handle negative reactions using empathy, sharing facts, and encouraging dialogue.
In short, when getting into a crucial conversation, you can temporarily pause the conversation and clearly explain what you don’t intend for the conversation, and then clarify what you do intend.
This is how the contrasting technique works. If you’re giving constructive feedback to a direct report and this person responds with something like, “Oh, so you think I’m a terrible team member, is that it?”
You can respond by saying, “I don’t mean to say you’re a terrible team member. I think you bring a lot to the team. I do mean to point out that by looking at your phone during the entire meeting, you gave the impression you weren’t engaged.” See how it works? A “don’t mean” statement followed by a “do mean” clarifying statement.
All in all, feedback is truly a valuable asset if delivered well. Regardless of the model you choose, the key is to be specific, descriptive, constructive, and sensitive. Use your empathy skills to determine the right time to give feedback and how to do it, and don’t ever wait until the issue becomes overwhelming!