Feedback: A Motivational and Developmental Tool
Did you learn how to drive on your own? Did you start riding your bike alone, with no advice received from your parents, sibling, teacher?
Probably not.
We are made to make progress through feedbacks. Feedbacks speed up human development.
Sports industry has managed to keep the observation and feedback loop an everyday habit.
Think of a sports coach and you will probably picture him/her standing up next to the pitch, observing and giving advice to the team on the spot.
Business world has taken a different path, focusing too much on figures or external factors that supposedly would offer feedback.
Truth is, you may win without respecting the strategy. Short team success may destroy value on long run. Business figures look at the past, feedback routine looks at the present and future.
How to start implementing a feedback routine?
Business leaders may think it is difficult to apply sports best practice in a corporate world, because they feel it would take too much time, would be a danger, or would be a too drastic change.
After helping hundreds of companies over the last 3 decades, I observe that the reality is different. Most managers spend little time observing, NOT because of lack of time (what matters more than making your team more empowered and more efficient?) BUT because they do not find a clear pattern to follow. Here is a 3-step approach that works: set the scene, observe, and give feedback.
Step 1: Set the scene, explain the end-goal and steps to achieve it
Setting the scene is about explaining how we aim to develop each team member’s talent. Most of companies currently look only at dashboard and KPIs (business figures, client satisfaction, etc.…) to measure performance. Yet, if you manage to intertwine those valuable KPIs with the insights coming from observations, you may create a faster learning development. Setting the scene is a matter of communicating to your team that, as the manager, you will spend more time observing their work to get insights and provide additional (and valuable) feedback.
Setting the scene is also about managing your own calendar as a manager, ensuring you can dedicate several hours a day to observing your team members (10% of manager’s total time should be dedicated to this task).
Engage also with other stakeholders to explain your approach and ideally get allies.
Step2: Observe in a structured way
Observing as a coach has nothing to do with random, unstructured observation. Start with the job perimeter of your employee and list the key tasks he/she must deal with. Be careful here not to mix mission, objectives, and tasks. Your focus should be on the tasks that provide value and help meet the objective and reach the final goal (the mission that supports corporate vision).
For example, if you manage a team of salespeople, focus on the way they organize their commercial visits and how they interact with clients in detail (do they have a powerful hook to start any meeting? Do they manage to share the brand unique selling points? How do they do so?…). Take notes and keep them handy to be able to compare week after week and identify improvements.
Step3: Offer feedback
After observing, you will surprisingly notice that you have A LOT to share. Usually, positive feedbacks here outperform constructive ones (4 positive feedbacks for 1 constructive on average).
The way to communicate feedback is probably the most important step, especially for constructive (rather than “negative”) feedback. This is where you, as a manger, can benefit from being coached yourself by an expert, such as our team members in Tack TMI. You will need to learn about simple and efficient methods that you can use every day and inspire your team members to grow as professionals. The method to use will depend on your individual situation, as well as the industry you are working in.
Kicking off the process
Lead by example to make the ball rolling. Ask your team or colleagues for feedback before you start sharing. Engage with them, brainstorm on ways to collectively make progress.
Then, after determining the best approach with an expert, explain to you team the method you plan to use.
On the long run, the circle of feedback must be approached in your entire organization as a communication tool (not a management one), so every team member feels able to share feedback to anyone within the company. Make this Ken Blanchard’s quote your company’s philosophy: “Feedback is the breakfast of champions”.
François Xavier Delaporte
Expert in Management, Leadership & Communication at Tack TMI