Tagged: Development

Constructive Criticism: 3 Simple Ways to Give Effective Negative Feedback

Let’s skip the “praise sandwich” and learn how to give candid constructive feedback.

In my previous article, The Power of Positive Reinforcement, I emphasized the importance of recognizing and reinforcing positive behaviors. There comes a time though when delivering negative feedback is inevitable. Most managers in my experience find it very difficult to give negative performance feedback, but if you show that you are motivated by the desire to help and not to punish, it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant task.  Here are three ways that I preface constructive criticism or negative feedback to encourage my employees and keep them motivated:

Let them know that they are valuable enough to invest time and resources into them:

 “I appreciate all you’ve done for us. The company is very supportive of your efforts and committed to putting resources behind your growth and development. There are a few areas where I think we can make some improvements to make an even bigger impact on the organization. “

Let them know that you are supportive of their development and success:

“You’ve shown a lot of commitment to this organization and drive to improve yourself. I know you have ambitions and want to improve so please realize that as your manager, I’ve got to be hard on you. “

Let them know that they contribute to the success of the organization:

“You’ve really made a difference here. I’m glad you joined the team and I’m happy to see the progress you’ve made.  If you put in more time in these areas I know you can add even more value to the organization. “

Remember, the goal of any feedback, positive or negative, is to improve the behavior of the other person to bring out the best in your entire company. Learning how to deliver negative feedback will produce positive results and strengthen the relationships with your employees.

So, how do you give negative feedback? I would love to hear your thoughts!

How Do You Spend Your Time at Work?

Mastering the art of getting shit done takes discipline and lots of planning. As the CEO of a $15 million online business I often get asked how I allocate my time during the working day. Well, here it is:

Employee development – 50%

This  is the most critical part of my job and the one that I allocate the most time resources toward. Investing in employee training and development strategies is critical for the success of any business. It’s the only way to create sustainable and managed growth. As an entrepreneur who’s bootstrapped a business from $0 to $15 Million, there was a time that I did it all; janitor, shipping clerk, customer service, order entry, human resources, purchasing, accounting. It’s debilitating and exhausting, and will only lead to burn out. As a leader, you’ve got to leverage yourself through employees.

Tactical – 20%

This is the day to day, answering emails, talking with employees, putting out fires. Emails usually take up a majority of this time and I try to limit the email to less than 10% but after all, email ” is a game of tetris. ”

Process Improvement – 10%

I focus on two things here: How can I simplify the process and how can I make the process run better? Typically I will either work directly in the process or scan through email correspondence in my teams email queues or Gmail groups (we have email groups for sales, product team, customer service, products, purchasing, warehouse, and technical support.)  I’ll find the bottlenecks and discuss with the department leads how we can simplify and improve.

Thinking & Strategy – 10%

This is my quiet time which is usually on my commute home. I reflect on the day and assess my performance; did I make improvements to the organization? Did I stay focused on what I set out to do in the morning? Did I get caught up in day to day (tactical) issues that prevented me from allocating my time appropriate? What do I want to accomplish tomorrow?

This time also includes working directly with my leadership team in achieving organizational alignment.  It usually consists of a 2 hour offsite each week.

Professional Development 10%

This includes listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or reading articles and blogs. My commute to work is 45 minutes so it’s perfect amount of time to get into a chapter of an audio book or two 20 minute podcasts.

How do you spend your time at work?