Bad news never felt so good

As an HR practitioner focused on manager capability, I often ponder on what contributes sustainably to team performance and organization effectiveness especially in uncertain times. And I cant help but go back to the mother of all research which started these discussions.

Project Aristotle at Google shares that a critical measure of an effective organization is the degree of safety, employees experience. Especially when employees offer feedback or admit mistakes- to their peers, directs or their managers/leaders.

Giving or receiving feedback is hard but when done regularly and constructively can build iteratively stronger impact and trust. It is a virtuous cycle.

One of the direct ways to drive a performance culture is managers giving timely and constructive feedback.?So then why do managers hesitate to do the same?

• I learnt in my role as a coach to diverse group of managers that there are two clear factors which inhibits them: Skill and Will.?Skill to give feedback while ensuring employee feels respected, supported, and invested in. And will to give especially difficult feedback. Nobody likes to engage in something which is naturally stressful and can possibly disrupt with unwanted reactions and discussions.
• Giving feedback is an art and a science. Ability to persuade is surely an art and there is quite a bit of brain science involved (Refer to SCARF model). Some managers are naturally good at it and some need to work on becoming better. And that is possible.
• And if feedback mechanism is well entrenched as part of people practices and culture, an organization ensures that a high-performance culture becomes that operative leverage it needs to succeed in a fast-changing world.

Recently I read the book Crucial Conversations for mastering Dialogues and found some interesting insights that I would love to share for managers and fellow HR practitioners as they build their skills around constructive feedback. (Crucial Conversations-Third Edition: Grenny, Patterson, Switzler, Gregory)

1.??????First, giving feedback is a crucial conversation: It is high stakes (you are building employee and organization capability), with differing opinions and strong emotions at play.

2.??????Anytime you find yourself stuck, there’s likely a Crucial Conversation you’re either not holding or not holding well.

3.??????We often make a fool’s choice deciding that we can either be kind or be truthful. We can be 100% both.

4.??????Preparing well is a critical aspect of giving feedback successfully. This can be done by asking yourself these questions:?What do I really want for me, other person and for the relationship? See how I underlined really.?This is to make you pause and reflect. Second question is “what are the stories and what are the facts and how do I mitigate any biases that may be tainting my lens before I get into a conversation?”.

5.??????People who are skilled at dialogue do their best to make it safe for everyone to add their thoughts to the conversations—even ideas that at first glance appear controversial, wrong, or at odds with their own beliefs. They don’t agree with every idea; they simply do their best to ensure that all ideas find their way into the open.

And what's in it for the organizations to invest in manager capability and culture of giving and receiving feedback?

• In organizations where managers and employees practiced crucial conversation (like giving timely feedback) in critical moments, projects were 50% less likely to fail. (Crucial Conversations-Third Edition)
• And another study found out that companies with employees and managers skilled in crucial conversations were likely to respond 5 times faster than to financial downturns -and make budget adjustments more intelligently.?(Crucial Conversations-Third Edition)

Hence it is critical to invest building managerial skills around giving feedback and perhaps exploring useful resources like Crucial conversations book as one of the first steps.

Now let’s talk about the other gap:?Why managers lack the motivation to give feedback?

• In my experience, it comes down to the primitive reactions of the brain towards threat like difficult situations.?A fight or flight mode are common reactions. Both of which are inefficient and often lead to undesired results.
• Managers worry about disruptions in the team, demotivated employees, impacted work schedules. Is there a way to overcome these?
• In past few years, as I have coached managers, I know there is a tribe which does not shy away from difficult conversations even if they are uncomfortable. They go with the best interests of the employees in mind which leads to them being clear as well as kind in their conversations. These conversations rather than disrupting, strengthen the relationship. Which leads to an employee engaged to act on feedback and strive to meet the expectations of managers and their organizations.

The end outcome of these discussions could be an employee getting constructive feedback which evolves them over a period as better professionals and or human beings. OR the employee may realize that the role is not maybe a great fit and they may transition to other roles.

But to the organization which nurtures and witnesses such trust laden conversations, these conversations make a world of difference to their culture, their products, and customers.

Note: These views are personal and do not represent views of organizations I am part of or support.