We live in a society of feedback. There was never a time where feedback was as important as now. We seek validation in everything we do. The social networks created a culture of validation, where likes and hearts are the end goal. Platforms like Zomato, Arbnb, Yelp or Uber even increased the feedback need with their reviews system. We want to express our opinion and we want to know what others think of us. To ignore this as a manager is one of the biggest mistakes one can do.
There are two sides of this coin. if, on one hand, people are more receptive to feedback and they expect it, on the other hand, they also feel more entitled to share their opinion and voice their concerns. Both are extremely important to an organization, but it is important to balance them to take the most out of this communication.
if you’re a manager, you need to know one thing: people react differently to feedback. And this is the first thing you should be observing in your employees. This is what is going to determine why, when and and how you share feedback with them and it is going to help you making sure that your feedback is producing the best results.
From my experience there are 4 types of, let’s call it, “feedback profiles”:
- The takers: they will take every little feedback you provide to them as their greatest mission. This is when you know that your feedback is always going to take effect, so you can be really specific about the things that you would think should be changed. Usually these are either people that have a lower confidence and they always think that others’ perspective is more valuable than they’re own or people that are confident with their work, but they are always willing to try other things because they recognize how important it is to develop. Takers will apply everything you say, because they want to improve. You, as a manager, with this type of profile don’t need to show a lot of examples to convince them. They will take your word.
- The idealists: they will value your feedback, but they will only apply it up to a certain point. Idealists are moved by principles, values and what their own view is for the work that they do. With this type of profile you need to invest a lot of time showing why doing things in a certain way is needed. A classic example is people that, when they’re doing customer service calls, take a long time to finish the call because they don’t want to compromise the quality of their support. They often have great and valid points when explaining why they take so long. To make sure they apply the feedback you are providing, you need to use arguments you know they care about. “Less time with calls will allow you to help more customers. Customers appreciate shorter calls, as long as they are effective. Calls can still be effective when they are short and we can still be empathetic during quicker calls. Here is something very small you can start trying from now on.” With this kind of profile, you need to ask for smaller changes, one at a time. They will not radically change the way they work before they believe in it and they see results.
- The defensive: they will take things personally and it will be very hard for you to have them on board with just one conversation. These are people that often mistake feedback with personal criticism. They will see something negative you say about their work as if you were saying they are incompetent. Their pride will get in the way and they will start finding reasons.to sustain their actions. They may blame other things for their results and it is going to be hard to make them take ownership of what you need them to change. With such a description, how to deal with this profile? It is not easy to have a clear answer, but I found it is useful to get them to be the ones mentioning what needs to be improved first. In order to to this, you can ask them to analyse something they did and let you know how they feel about it and if they would have done something different. If they can’t identify what you would like them to identify, you can give a hint, but always start with something positive first. The point is to always try to get them to say it first. However, that is not always possible and, sometimes, you need to point out what is wrong. But, if you have do it, always think of how you say it. Try not to impose something to begin with, like “this is how I want you to do it from now on”. It will work better if you say it like “have you noticed what happens when you do this? Would you do something different?”. if people with this profile start finding excuses or looking at other things to blame, it is very important to try to show to them what is in their power to change, because other factors will always influence our work, but there are always some things we can do to improve as well.
- The numb: they will hear your feedback and say “yes” to everything, but they won’t really apply it. It is hard to understand when they are taking the feedback seriously. It is hard to know if they are motivated to apply it. You will need to make an extra effort to understand what triggers them, what motivates them, as they don’t really care about the feedback, they care more about the effects of applying it or not applying it. Finding their purpose is what you should be worried about. If they want to progress internally, maybe showing them how that feedback is going to help them get there is what is needed.
These profile types are not static. And one very important thing to remember is that people may not always take feedback in the same way during their entire lives. I tend to remember the feedback that was provided to me during periods where I was more vulnerable (positive or negative). During the first months at a new company, we tend to be very receptive to feedback and when we are there for a long time and develop some frustrations we tend to disregard feedback a lot more. If I am upset about something in my personal life, I can be more defensive in the office. If my manager did something I didn’t like recently, I can be tempted to question his views. If someone I care about in the company reacts to feedback in a certain way, I can be tempted to mimic that person, because I admire them. There are so many variables in the equation that it is really hard to always know how to approach someone. However, a few key things can always be considered:
- Always plan how you are going to pass your feedback according to the person that will listen;
- Have examples that support your feedback, as showing the person is always better then just telling;
- Let the person come to the conclusion themselves, if possible;
- Be specific about the things that need to be worked on and avoid using expressions like “you always”, “you never”;
- Providing positive feedback is as important as providing negative feedback. Also be specific about the positive feedback as well, so that the person repeats those behaviours.
- Always be respectful and make sure you differentiate how you feel about the person and how you feel about their work.
- Ask your employees how they prefer to receive their feedback. Not everyone enjoys receiving it in the same way or with the same frequency. If you don’t see an improvement, revisit this with them.
Managing employees is definitely a hard and challenging task, but if you want your team to develop you can’t dismiss how important feedback is. Be patient, observe and ask for feedback as well, as you don’t need to do this alone.
André Vidal 