Why people want bad news

First published by http://www.rebonline.com.au/ (07 Dec 2015)

People need feedback to develop and grow. Leaders who don't provide corrective feedback to their people stifle growth and limit potential.

In 2014, business management consultancy Zenger Folkman surveyed 899 individuals globally about their relationship with feedback. They found most people wanted corrective feedback, more than praise, if it were provided in a constructive manner, while 72 per cent said their performance would improve if their manager provided corrective feedback.

Here are three reasons why giving corrective feedback matters:

1. People need challenge

John Demartini, an American researcher and best-selling author in human behaviour said: “People grow at the boundary of support and challenge.” Developmental feedback challenges people to keep growing, and encourages them to remain on track.

2. People need clarity

We can’t see our behaviours as clearly as others can. Without an outside perspective, we remain blind to our development opportunities and strengths. We rely on our leaders to provide the clarity we can’t see for ourselves.

3. People learn best on the job

The 70-20-10 theory of organisational learning suggests that only 10 per cent of learning happens in a formal training program (with 70 per cent coming from tough jobs and 20 per cent from people). Most learning happens on the job, and people can’t get better without feedback.

The roadblocks to giving corrective feedback

If corrective feedback is so important, and everyone wants it, why don't we get enough of it? Here are six common roadblocks:

1. Don't have time

It’s easy to put off a potentially uncomfortable interaction on the basis of being too busy.

2. Don't know how it will be received

You worry you will offend or upset the person and perhaps damage the relationship.

3. Don’t see it as your role

As a junior in an organisation, success is about growing yourself. As a leader, success is about growing others.

4. Don't have the skills

The ability to give feedback is one that must be cultivated in addition to job-specific technical skills.

5. Don’t realise the importance of it

Perhaps, until now, you hadn’t realised the value of constructive feedback. Perhaps it’s hard to believe that what is so clear to you (as an observer) can be unknown to others.

6. Don't have the confidence

It’s not a job most people relish, and many leaders find it hard to have the tough conversations.

How to give developmental feedback

There are three key elements for giving developmental feedback:

1. Discover

Build awareness of the need for change. Deciding what feedback to offer requires awareness of the behaviours and their resulting effects. Awareness is important; it precedes and directs change, and creates motivation.

2. Decode

Create insight and understanding of the underlying drivers of the behaviour. Trying to change behaviours without addressing the intention is like painting a car red and expecting it to go faster.

Conversations that help your people decode their motivational drivers means energy can be redirected into behaviour that better supports their intention. This is like lifting the bonnet of the car to help them understand how the engine works.

3. Design

Agree on the pathway and actions required to create new behaviours. Collaborate with the person to help them design their own pathway for improved performance. Once their plan is in place, it’s about supporting them to stay the course.

The context sets the scene for development and change. Understanding the environment in which feedback is given will influence your approach and the outcome.

Over to you

Your people are craving the developmental feedback you may be reluctant to give. They want and need to know exactly what it is they can do to develop. There is a payoff for providing this feedback – for you, your people and your business.

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The art of giving critical feedback

First published in Accounting Technician January 2016 issue

Don’t shy away from giving your staff critical feedback, says Anneli Blundell. Use it as a chance to help them develop, and they will thank you for it. 

Great leaders give critical feedback. They tell it like it is. They are heard. They inspire action. Leaders who give targeted, real-time feedback – both good and bad – support and challenge their people to develop.

Giving critical or corrective feedback can invite negative reactions: denial, hurt, blame and anger are possible responses. Most of us are not eager to upset others, which makes it easy to justify delayed responses or missed feedback opportunities. However, avoiding the tough stu can have major consequences. Leaders must make the effort. They must confront their own comfort and confidence levels when faced with having hard conversations.

Withholding critical feedback is like asking someone to complete a crossword without providing all the clues. It’s simply not possible.

Sue (not her real name) worked as a community support manager. She moved through several leadership roles in various divisions within ve years. Sue was liked as a person but not respected in her role. She sat on decisions, was easily overwhelmed, and was seen as a bottleneck to progress. She did not deliver.

When June was appointed as division head, she quickly noticed the issue. June gave Sue the feedback that no one wanted to give. She respectfully yet firmly laid out the situation. Sue was shocked and distressed by her apparent underperformance. Missed feedback opportunities meant Sue was not given the chance to modify her behaviour. After a few months of coaching support, things were looking up. Sue’s projects were on track and she noticed a change in how others treated her. Sue thanked June for her candour and willingness to invest in her growth. Without critical feedback, we don't know what we don't know; we become blind to our potential. The better you are at giving critical feedback, the faster and deeper your people will develop. Here’s why:

People need challenge. John Di Martini, an American researcher and best-selling author in human behaviour, said, “People grow at the boundary of support and challenge”. We need just enough challenge to keep us growing and developing, and just enough support to feel encouraged and on track. One without the other can lead to boredom and stagnation, or burnout and stress.

People need clarity. We can’t see our behaviours as clearly as others can. Sometimes we’re not as good as we think we are (the Dunning-Kruger E ect), and other times our performance deserves more credit (the Worse- an-Average E ect). With no outside perspective, we remain blind to our development opportunities and strengths. It’s a leader’s role to provide the clarity we can’t see for ourselves.

People have courage. It turns out that people actually want the bad news that their leaders don’t want to give them. In 2014, Zenger and Folkman surveyed 899 individuals globally about their relationship to feedback. They found that people want corrective feedback more than praise, if it’s provided in a constructive manner. Some 72 percent said their performance would improve if their manager provided corrective feedback.

Leaders who sit on feedback because they don’t have time, don’t think it matters, or are reluctant to have a hard conversation, stifle the growth of their people. I bet there’s a Sue in every once ready for feedback and waiting to flourish. 

Withholding critical feedback is like asking someone to complete a crossword without providing all the clues.

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Taking the guesswork out of growing leaders

First published on aim.com.au (11 Dec 2015)

The game of leadership has changed

Growing leaders is too important to outsource; the best leaders know that developing leadership in others, on the job, is a key responsibility. To support the new game, leadership development must change, and leaders must be adaptable, responsive, and continue to develop their skills. Leadership theory is no longer enough: it’s not what you know that matters, it’s what you do with what you know that makes the difference. To develop sustainable leadership, we must move from an overreliance on classroom training alone, toward a committed, agile focus on informal learning.

‘For most leaders, the greatest challenge is not understanding the practice of leadership. It is practising their understanding of leadership.’ —Marshall Goldsmith, author or editor of 35 business books.

The imperative for change

Leadership affects share price

Market analysts value effective leadership by awarding a ‘leadership premium’ of up to 15.7% of company share price for good leadership, and a discount of 19.8% for ineffective leadership . 

Leadership programs aren’t working

86% of HR and business leaders surveyed by Deloitte, cited leadership as one of their most important challenges . Yet 50% of HR executives say their leadership development programs are ineffective or don’t provide significant, lasting benefits .

Money down the drain

The typical organisation invests 85% of its resources in training events, yet these events only contribute 24% of learning effectiveness . Organisations only invest 5% of their time in training follow-up, even though follow up contributes 50% of learning effectiveness.

The knowing-doing gap

Sustainable behaviour change results from focused practice and attention over extended periods. One-off training events don't provide the repetition or feedback required to change mindsets, embed skill sets and integrate new mental maps that forge lasting habits. A focus on application, on the job, supports sustainable behaviour change, and the leader creates the supportive application environment.

Limited bench strength

Developing leadership in others, on the job, allows everyone showing potential the chance to develop— not just the ‘rising stars’ or the ‘executive team’—creating leadership at all levels.

3 steps to develop leaders on the job

Nobel Prize winner and author, Daniel Kahneman said, ‘True intuitive expertise is learned from prolonged experience with good feedback on mistakes’.

Leaders are in the best position to provide ‘good feedback on mistakes’, and to provide continued focus, reinforcement and support in real time, on the job—where it counts.

1. Discover: What’s the problem?

Deciding which leadership behaviours to develop requires awareness of the behaviours and their impacts on results and the relationship. Awareness precedes and directs change, and creates motivation.

2. Decode: What’s the cause?

Determining the intention behind the behaviour is critical. Trying to change behaviours without addressing the underlying motivational drivers is like painting a car red and expecting it to go faster—changing the colour does not change the engine.

3. Design: What’s the action?

Once goals are clear, determine a new pathway for improved performance.

Context – the environment for change

The context for change is critical; the environment for development will influence the approach and outcome. A leader can only align the three elements, to the organisational outcomes, once they understand the context in which all parties and the organisation are working.

Once the plan is set, it’s about supporting the new leader to stay the course through ongoing coaching and targeted behaviour-change conversations. This is effective leadership development: it’s real time, relevant, and creates results.

Ongoing action

Development traction comes from ongoing action. Developing the right leadership skills is more than leadership theory. It’s about the practice of leadership with consistent, real-time feedback, on the job. If a leader is well-equipped to develop leadership capabilities within their team, they will create a ripple effect that will lift the organisation’s results.

Anneli Blundell is a professional People Whisperer who supports leaders to develop leadership in others, on the job. She is the co-author of Developing Direct Reports: Taking the guesswork out of leading leaders. Contact her at www.anneliblundell.com or ab@anneliblundell.com.

Source: http://aim.com.au/blog/taking-guesswork-out-growing-leaders

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3 ways women minimise their power and how to stop it!

First published by www.womensagenda.com.au/ (18 Nov 2015)

Women are guilty of abusing their power, but not in the way you may think. Rather than throw their weight around, demand compliance or ignore the plight of the less powerful, they do something equally damaging: they minimise their power.

Being promoted into a position of power doesn't necessarily make us feel powerful. Without an equal measure of internal power, any external markers of power can magnify insecurities and uncertainties, and make us feel like imposters on the brink of exposure. When we do not step confidently and fully into a position of power, we create a disconnect between inside and outside: how powerful we appear to others compared with how powerful we appear to ourselves.

Ways we avoid owning our power

1. Denying

I don't deserve this.

Others are more skilled; I just got lucky.

I was in the right place at the right time.

We confuse the people we are leading by denying the power inherent in an assigned role. As leaders, others look to us to make decisions, set standards and give feedback. When we don't act accordingly—because we don't feel qualified—people don’t know where they stand and can wonder why we’re ‘reluctant to lead’.

Tips:

• View yourself through the eyes of others, and let their faith in you build your confidence.
• Act as if you deserve to be leading: faking confidence can build confidence.
• Model other leaders who embrace their power, and use it for the good of others.

2. Downplaying

It was nothing.

We all worked on it together.

Anyone could have done it.

When we are naturally good at something, we tend to underestimate our ability and downplay our strengths: if it’s easy for us, it must be easy for others. Downplaying our efforts, combined with a general reluctance to brag, means we perpetuate the likelihood of being passed over by others who confidently promote their potential and step fully into their power.

Tips:

• Make a list of skills, attributes and traits of which you can be proud. It’s important to acknowledge these strengths to yourself.
• Practise telling people what you are proud of achieving and why (in a way that doesn't make you squirm!)
• Practise responding to compliments with a simple ‘thank you’. This forces you to own your power and not deny it.

3. Doubting

I’m not sure I’m experienced enough to do this.

Who am I to be leading this team?

When will they realise I’m an imposter?

Without self-belief it is difficult to step into our own power. When we doubt our abilities and the positions we hold, we become hesitant to make use of the opportunities they afford. We don’t go for the big roles or projects, of which we are capable—we play it safe.

Interestingly, self-doubt is associated with great ability: the incompetent are confident and the competent doubt their abilities. So if you doubt yourself, be delighted, it probably means you’re better than you give yourself credit for.

Tips:

• Rejoice in your doubt, knowing that it’s a sign of your capability.
• Fake it to make it: confidence comes from doing the things at which you’re not confident. To build confidence, you must act with confidence.
• Do more of what scares you most.

Closing the disconnect gap

When we minimise our power, we are in danger of sabotaging our potential. In Developing Direct Reports: Taking the guesswork out of leading leaders, my co-authors and I explore 12 globally recognised leadership derailers. A chronic disconnect between inside and outside power, for women, can appear as one of the following derailers:

• Staller: not moving forward on decisions, focused on perfection not momentum.
• Fence-sitter: trying to accommodate everyone; trying to make the ‘right’ decision.
• Avoider: uncomfortable with conflict.

 Our ability to feel empowered is a choice we make, not a position we hold. Being promoted to a position of power doesn't always equate to real power, nor does a lack of power equate to powerlessness. The choice is always yours.

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