Anyone who has ever watched a friend, loved one or family member perform at an open mic knows that delivering critical feedback isn’t easy. How do you tell someone who was brave enough to get on stage that their jokes weren’t funny or that their singing isn’t as good as they think it is? For most people, the answer is, “you don’t,” which is probably why so many artists are struggling.
Unfortunately for leaders, this easy out doesn’t exist.
A manager needs to be able to deliver critical feedback to employees for two reasons. First, critical feedback is essential to professional development in that it lets people know what their weaknesses are and how to address them. Second, critical feedback is essential to the long-term success of a team. After all, a team is only as strong as its weakest link, right? Also, if left unchecked, bad behaviors and best practices that lead one person to underperform can spread to other team members.
While it’s easy to point out why critical feedback is important, it’s much more difficult to say how it should be delivered. That said, Kate Senecal, the national training manager at Neat Loans, has a few ideas. For starters, Senecal said context is key, because when people know the “why” behind critical feedback, they are much more likely to accept it and act upon it. In addition, Senecal recommends socializing critical feedback to make it less taboo, and to make team members accountable for implementing change.
“By asking teammates to share, it gives them the opportunity to lead within their team,” Senecal said. “This extra step allows the team member to internalize ownership over the process change, helping to feed an environment of peer-to-peer accountability.”
Continue reading to see more of Senecal’s advice for how leaders can deliver critical feedback that is specific, actionable and, most importantly, won’t crater morale.
Before delivering critical feedback to a team member, what’s an important step you take?
The first thing I recommend is to approach the situation with curiosity. Rather than assuming someone is not competent or lazy, start by asking questions. The answers should help paint a picture of how the team member’s behavior or actions came about, for example, questions like: “I see you did ‘X’ during this situation. What made you go that direction,” as opposed to questions like, “Why did you do ‘X’ in this situation?”
The second question can invoke defensiveness, and defensiveness makes it impossible for critical feedback to be heard. The answers to the first question helps the leader better understand if there is a gap and where that gap stems from, be it content or process knowledge, training or simply professional experience.
Any critical feedback should be presented with a rationale. When team members understand the ‘why,’ their buy-in increases.”
How do you frame critical feedback to ensure your message is clear and actionable without sacrificing employee morale?
Any critical feedback should be presented with a rationale. When team members understand the “why” behind something, especially a change, their buy-in increases. It is similar to the art of storytelling in sales: When a sales pitch includes a story the buyer can relate to, the buyer can see him/herself using the new product. The rationale paints a clear picture for the team member on how a change in their practice will benefit their work and the work of others.
Once you’ve delivered the critical feedback, what comes next?
As a leader, I want to empower my teammates to share their experiences and learnings. I am only one person, and I certainly do not have all of the answers. After delivering critical feedback, I ask the team member to share what they have learned with their teammates so we can increase our collective depth of knowledge around the issue and work to prevent it in the future.
This step is essential when working in a startup environment as we are moving incredibly quickly. If I wait for my next one-on-one with each team member, it may be too late and the mistake may have been replicated multiple times. I need changes and supporting information disseminated as quickly as possible. By asking teammates to share, it gives them the opportunity to lead within their team. This extra step allows the team member to internalize ownership over the process change, helping to feed an environment of peer-to-peer accountability.
