Every manager should be able to tell his people what they are doing right and wrong. He should be particularly careful when giving negative feedback. If criticism is expressed as a complaint, aggrievedly or aggressively, the employee immediately becomes defensive. Instead of a meaningful dialogue, you can expect turbulent emotions. You will probably not achieve the changes you wanted by sharing your criticism.
That is why it is important to work on your team culture. Your team should know that the purpose of negative feedback is not only to highlight weaknesses, but to open a dialogue about possible personal development within the company goals. Three steps to accomplish this were described on CEO.com.
1. Be personal
Your goal is to change the behavior of a specific person. Therefore, talk to your people about how they prefer to receive negative feedback from you. Give them the opportunity to specify some of the topics they want to talk about during your feedback conversation. This way, you will help them feel less anxious and avoid unpleasant surprises.
2.Learn from your own experience
Think about your worst experience when someone criticized you. Remember how you felt and how your people may feel the same. Take this experience as a cautionary tale you can learn from. Above all, keep in mind that feedback is not a one-time event. It should be a gradual and long-term process.
3. Prepare thoroughly
You can not avoid giving feedback. Prepare for the feedback conversation with your employee as if you were preparing for a presentation to a client. When you practice out loud what you want to say you can better organize your thoughts and the entire message. It will also help get rid of your unnecessary emotions.
What is your recipe for giving negative feedback?
Read more about feedback in our previous articles:
Providing feedback: Face-to-face and be specific
10 steps to express criticism the right way
How (not) to lead employee performance interviews
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