Vegas Negativity How too
Handle Negativity
Posted by Georgie Best
The work place, is about communication as well as all feedback—whether positive or negative—is crucial. When you get negative feedback, it’s important to take a breath and try not to react defensively. Yet many managers and employees don’t know how to handle negative feedback, both from the giving and the receiving ends. This can lead to a breakdown in communication, in which employees feel demoralized and demotivated, while managers feel guilty and frustrated. What’s worse, when negative criticism is misconstrued, it can easily lead to decreased productivity among employees.
According to a recent survey by Zenger/Folkman, a leadership development consultancy, a significantly large number of respondents (57%) said they preferred to receive “corrective feedback,” while only 43% preferred praise/recognition. Furthermore, when asked what was most helpful in their career, an impressive 72% said they thought their performance would improve if their managers would provide corrective feedback. The survey also found that the way corrective feedback is given really matters—92% of the respondents agreed with the assertion: “Negative feedback, if delivered appropriately, is effective at improving performance.”
How to Deliver Negative Feedback
1. Find the root of the problem. Before saying anything, try to find out why the employee’s performance is not up to par. There may be personal reasons, for example, someone could be going through a divorce or there could be illness or a recent death in the family. Knowing if something outside of work is affecting an employee’s performance can better guide your approach when you bring it up.
2. Don’t vent. Having an employee who doesn’t perform as well as he or she could can be frustrating, but avoid venting when you talk to the employee. When things aren’t going well for your team, its easy to point fingers and lay blame. Try to leave your frustrations out of the conversation and focus only on the specifics of the employee’s performance.
3. Come up with solutions together. The main point of delivering negative feedback should be to determine how to fix the issue. Be prepared before you breach the subject with possible solutions and ways to improve the situation. For instance, if an employee is missing his deadlines, suggest that you work together on developing a calendar with reminders that will help him get better organized and keep better track of his work.
4. Do it in person. Everyone knows that criticizing someone’s performance tends to be a less-than-pleasant situation, but avoiding the conversation by delivering the message on the phone or via email is counterproductive. Talking with the employee in person shows that you respect her enough to tell her to her face, and gives you the opportunity to open a conversation about ways to improve.
5. Avoid the sandwich. Some managers use the “sandwich method” to deliver negative feedback—starting the conversation with a positive comment, then giving the negative feedback and closing with another positive comment. The problem here is that you run the risk of confusing the issue. Trying to soften the blow by sandwiching it between positive comments can dilute the message. Instead, try to stay focused on the issue. Remember, that’s the whole point of having the conversation in the first place.
6. Be timely. Finally, avoid letting negative comments pile up. Try to give all feedback—negative and positive—in a timely manner. If an employee is performing poorly, bring up the issue as soon as possible to give him a chance to correct it. Otherwise it may become compounded with other issues and lead to a situation to will be much more difficult to handle.
