The Covid-19 pandemic has led a lot of organizations to rethink strategy and find more ways to engage customers. Live sessions on Instagram seem to be the trending way and yes “I joined the train!” 😊😊.
I was invited by A wise Woman Empowerment (@aww_empowerment) to speak on a very Interesting topic — “Giving Effective Feedback”.
I was initially going to reject the opportunity because I have had gaps in my own management style as a Team Lead at different times (smiles). I have had cause to reflect and I realized “Oh I could have done this better,” “Oh wow, I poorly managed this”.
I reconsidered and convinced myself with these wise words “You are allowed to be a work in Progress and a Masterpiece simultaneously”
I must say that managing a Team & giving feedback is a very delicate task that must be approached with tact and a high level of emotional Intelligence.
I spoke from a standpoint of hindsight i.e. my own experience and insight i.e. as someone who has worked with senior management & gathered some experience over time.
Some of the key points I discussed are as follows:
RULE 101 OF FEEDBACK — IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE NEGATIVE
We need to dymistfy the myth around the “big word” — Feedback. It is not a negative word. Feedback can be positive as well. Usually, when we think of the word “Feedback”, we always think it is negative. This should not be the case. Yes, there are times when it is required to give feedback that addresses gaps in a team member’s task but it doesn’t have to be negative all the time. There is something called sustaining expectation effect in Psychology. ( A term used for studying kids in the classroom). If you fail to acknowledge a change in the behavior or improvement of a child or a Team Member (In this case), there is a tendency to revert to poor behavior.
In a recently conducted research, 30 % of employees say they are not acknowledged at work despite the efforts. We are all humans and we want to be recognized. The research goes further to say team members can be 3 times more effective if they are given the required positive acknowledgment and recognition from time to time.
Don’t be the manager always pointing out gaps or areas of improvement without acknowledging effort from time to time.
THE KEYWORD — EFFECTIVE
The keyword that needs to be highlighted here is Effective. A lot of us give and receive feedback every day but the question is it Effective?
To be effective means that it has achieved the desired goal. Feedback can be said to be effective only when the recipient has received it and adjusts or makes improvements or builds on it accordingly.
The Spirit behind feedback must be to help the other party become better, reinforce good behavior, or improve and increase overall performance.
CORE PILLARS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK
There are core pillars that make feedback effective. I will compare it to building a house. A house has to have pillars. Without it, it is guaranteed, “Mark my words” guaranteed to crumble. It has to have a solid foundation. Else all effort will be in vain. Which is what happens in many Organizations. A lot of feedback Sessions are done but there are no results because it is not effective.
The Pillars that would make feedback effective are:
1. The Organization — Culture, Values, Systems & Structures in Place
2. The Manager
3. The Employee
The Organization
Organizational Structure: By Organization I mean ensuring there are systems in place. Clearly defined goals and expectations that are well documented and updated from time to time. Easily accessible by all, communicated as often as possible and reinforced through visuals in the Organisation.
Organizational Culture. What kind of Organization do we have? Or do we intend to build? The Culture of A Nigerian Public Service System, for instance, will be completely different from a Tech Company like Google. The way Feedback is done in these two systems would be completely different. What matters in an innovative environment will be different in a customer centric work space. Understand your organizational culture.
Hiring Right! This is a very Powerful Key that eliminates the many sessions of having back and forth sessions. I have discovered that hiring right is critical. Sometimes we may have to pay more to get the best but trust me, the moment you get it you reduce your work by 50%. I help organisations with this process via @careefortafrica and also coach people to ensure they are qualified to be hired. You can reach me for coaching sessions.
The Manager
This is the point where I would drill down a bit. Everything rises and falls on Leadership. As a Leader, you are in a very delicate position and honestly, it can be tough to balance because you are managing both your superiors and trying to push the team to meet targets. At the same time you want to ensure your team, is comfortable enough to work excellently well.
It is tough but doable
First
1. Get out of your way. Deal with you, Deal with your Ego. I say get out of your way because the moment you do, you would be relating with your Team from a standpoint of power. From an elevated place. Not pettiness or envy or personal biases.
Sometimes we say we are giving feedback but we are projecting our own Biases. E.g. A Team Member of yours likes to do flashy colored braided hair and you are a very conservative black-haired person. Is the organization saying anything about it? Is there a policy that prohibits this person from doing this? Is it affecting work or customers? If not, that’s absolutely none of your business!
2. Focus on the Major, Don’t Sweat the small stuff — What exactly is important in achieving the set goals. Is having small talk while working (gisting as we call it ) in the office while working or sitting in a particular position more important than getting the job done? Is coming to work in Shirt and Jeans as important as ensuring your Team Members speak courteously to customers? Choose your battles wisely, please!
3. Discover your Secret Sauce. Your Secret Recipe. You need to earn the respect of your Team Members.
You have to have something that makes them see you as their leader. It does not have to be in skill set, it could be in your managerial ability, your conflict resolution, the fact that you always have a new or different perspective to things etc.
4. Accelerate your Knowledgebase: Join Professional Associations, learn tricks and trends from other Industry experts, Take A course. Get a certification relevant to your industry. You need to voraciously consume Knowledge because you are a Leader and that demands that you level up.
5. Understand you are not a repository of Knowledge. You don’t know it all and that is why you have a Team. Your position as a leader is to hone and harness the skills available to you in such a way that it will bring overall productivity to the organization. You are not expected to know it all.
The Employees –
If you are working with anyone, you will get feedback and that’s guaranteed. It can be tough sometimes particularly if you are someone who puts in a lot of work, but like they say “It is what it is”.
· Don’t be defensive
· Listen Actively.
· Ask how you can be better
See things from the employer’s Point of View. If you want to do things your own way all the time, you may have to set up your own organisation. If you don’t have the capacity for that just yet — simply align. You need to begin to see things from the perspective of the organisation and your Team Lead.
What is the Purpose of Feedback?
· Build Confidence
· Show Achievement
· Correct Errors
· Identify Strengths and weaknesses
· Assess against outcomes to aid the development
Now we have established the pillars, we can now talk about giving Effective Feedback.
The organization has hired right, It has structures in place, The employees are open, the manager is well-coached on how to give feedback, we understand the purpose of Feedback. How then can we give Effective Feedback?
The first thing may sound basic but it is very critical.
- Prepare for your Feedback Session. Remember if you fail to plan you have just planned to fail. It can be a well thought out plan in your mind, it can be a well written down plan. Preferably written down. Have a proper document that contains things like — What is the issue? Why Do I want to give this feedback? How is this person’s action affecting the business? Date, time, who observed it, who brought it to your attention? For instance, this person was rude or not courteous when speaking to Customers. On average, this person speaks to 10 customers. Out of that 10, 8 of them complained that’s 80% of the customers, Of he continues to do this for 2 months it will amount to Xyz and can lead to a low turn over to the tune of N1, Million naira. Imagine Scenarios. What if this person becomes defensive, what would I do, what keywords can I use?
2. If you want to give Effective feedback, See your Team Members as Partners, or Colleagues not babies or children or Sisters or Friends. This will inform how you give them feedback. The way you view your Team Members will help you strategize on how to give Feedback. Your Team Members at work are not your children. You are not their Mother or Father. You are their Supervisor, their Coach. They are there to make your work easier. When they perform, you are performing. If you see them that way, you will approach them better. Giving feedback to your child is different from giving feedback to your friend that you gist with regularly.
3. Have a Goal in mind you plan to achieve this feedback? Have action steps — It is not enough to tell the person oh “you are not doing this” include action points? Can we take a course on Customer Satisfaction? Can you peer this person with another colleague for Peer mentoring on how to speak with customers?
4. When Giving Effective Feedback, remember to use the 4 Ts of communication —
Look, People will forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel. Effective feedback does not disempower, demoralize rather it addresses the real issue and profess solution.
For us as Women particularly, we need to understand ourselves. It brings me back to the Initial Pillar of getting out of your way. What kind of temperament do you have? Do you know? If you are a sanguine for instance you may be prone to outburst or struggle with managing your emotions. When you know that, you know better than to give feedback when you are angry. Bite your tongue, take a step back. Call someone. Vent but don’t yell at your team members. It can be tough but it comes with deliberate planning and of course practice. Rehearse with your siblings, your children.
The Ts of communication :
Timing — Is the tome right? Can I get back to this? I have a brother who never speaks when he is angry. He will take a step back. When he is calm, he would then draw your attention, which can be more penetrating or effective than speaking in anger.
Tone — Your verbal and Non-verbal communication.
Technique- The Sandwich method. This is pretty popular but a lot of people can see right through it if not tactically used. Start on a calm note, Pay attention. Listen, take notes. Actively engage. Using Power phrase
Truth. — Fact-based. If someone has brought a report to you, do your assessment. Ensure you are making decisions based on facts and not assumptions.
5. Feedback has to be Timely, Continuous, User-Friendly, Actionable, Specific.
6. Follow up and schedule a re-evaluation Session — After you have proferred or suggested solutions, follow up still using that same document. Has their been improvement?
7. Be Specific About the Issue
8. Focus on Performance, not Personality
9. Give it Privately
10. Use Power Phrases
Remember what you said will be long forgotten but how you made the person feel will never be forgotten.
Morolake Ojuola,
19th May 2020.
P.S. — I did a bit of research and read a number of articles. This write up is a digested version of all I have read in my own words. This is not an academic paper but an article to simply and contextualize the concept of Feedback in a fun and engaging manner. It is also a recap of an Instagram Live Session. Thank you for reading.
