Someone once said – “Feedback is the breakfast of
champions.” Personally, I think that pancakes, crispy bacon
and maple syrup are the breakfast of champions. However
there’s no doubt that giving people feedback is absolutely
vital to ensure a motivated team who’ll deliver results.
One of the top three factors that motivate people at work is
– feedback.
The majority of people want to know how they’re doing at
work. They want to know when they’re doing well and they
want to know when they could be doing better. There are a
small minority of people who don’t want feedback at all; but
let’s face it; you don’t want these people on your team
anyway.
Okay, so I’ll accept the fact that many people don’t want to
hear bad things about their job performance, however it
depends on how they hear the bad news that’ll effect their
motivation at work. I’m sure that you’d want to know whether
you were doing your job okay – I’m sure I would.
Like many people, I can be very sensitive to negative
feedback. At the end of any seminar or workshop I scan the
feedback forms looking for any comment that would dare to
suggest that I hadn’t done a good job.
It’s easy for me to look at negative feedback on the forms
and say – “You can’t please all the people all the time” or
“Who cares” or “What do they know anyway?”
I try to keep an open mind and think about what’s being said
in the feedback. Is it something I should do something about
– if this person didn’t like something that I said, maybe
there were others who felt the same way but didn’t make any
comment? All I want to do in my job is be the best that I
can be, so it’s important to listen to what my “customers”
have to say.
We all feel different about feedback because we are all
different. Some people love it, others are okay with it and
others just hate it.
I’m sure that you have people on your team who always want
to know “how they’re doing.” They come and speak to you and
show what they’re doing. “Is this okay boss, am I doing
this right?” They’re constantly looking for reassurance that
they’re doing the right thing. Then you’ll have others on
your team who never come and speak to you and get most
uncomfortable whether you’re giving them the good news or
the bad.
But let’s think about you for a moment about you. You might
be the kind of person who’s comfortable with lots of
feedback or maybe you’d prefer it in much smaller doses.
The important point is – the way you feel about receiving
feedback could affect the way you give it to your team.
Managers who are happy to receive feedback are usually happy
to give it to their team members because they believe their
entire team feel the same as they do.
And of course if you look at it the other way round –
managers less comfortable with feedback tend to believe that
their team feel the same way. This is often the biggest
danger because many managers don’t receive feedback from
their manager and subconsciously feel – “Why should I give
feedback to my guys when I don’t get it?”
Whether you receive feedback or not; whether you feel
uncomfortable giving it or not – you still need to do it for
your people. Just be aware that they’re all different
individuals and they might react in different ways. Almost
everyone wants feedback – how much, is just a matter of
degree.
Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team” This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people.
Click here now
