To be an effective manager, you need to be skilled at giving out both praise and criticism. While praise is easy to give (though it’s sometimes offered without being truly meant) or to give for the wrong reasons or to the wrong people, it’s far more challenging and unpleasant to criticise your employees. Managers avoid it as nobody enjoys the thought that their work or behaviour isn’t meeting the recognised standards. The practice of management, supervision, or direction requires you to occasionally show employees where they need to improve, why, and how.
The first thing to realise is that people generally respond more strongly to negative events than positive ones. In other words, we’re often more upset about losing £100 than we are happy about winning £100. People don’t like failure. Fear of failure is common to people at all levels. They don’t want to be embarrassed, and sometimes they want to accept the truth. Negative feedback can have significant adverse effects on an employee’s well-being and, in all likelihood, their productivity. Franklin D. Roosevelt, former American president, put it well in his inaugural address, albeit in a different context: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
You should avoid inadvertently criticising any of your employees for the sake of it (which is easy and, alas, common). Sounds weird, doesn’t it, but bosses sometimes shout, criticise, accuse, and create mayhem for no real reason, or just because they’re having a tough day themselves. That’s bullying and will never, ever lead to a successful outcome. (You might wish to read an excellent book on this subject, The Evil Executive, by Simon Maier.)
There’s a huge difference between flat criticism of a general nature, “This is lousy work” and a softer, “Let’s go through this and see how we make it better.” If an employee writes a report, for example, some managers might suggest revisions even if the draft was generally good. In these situations, managers should communicate that their revisions are merely suggestions from an alternative perspective and aren’t a criticism of the employee’s performance. Of course, if the draft report is totally off beam, then either the communications or instructions were fallible, or the employee isn’t up to the task for whatever reason. Or they’re just on the wrong wavelength.
Be careful. There’s a thin line to tread. If you criticise your employees, you may provide corrective information, but you can also alienate them. That shouldn’t stop you from doing what’s necessary, but there’s no value in being negative over something inconsequential. Choose your criticism as you would your battles. That doesn’t mean anyone should be exempt from criticism when there’s a serious issue, but repeated criticism will eventually defeat someone.
It’s important not to lose sight of your purpose for offering any feedback, and primarily it is to improve the employee’s performance. As much as you might want to give the employee the most serious warning for what you believe is a spectacularly awful performance, if nobody gains anything and nothing changes, there’s no value in it. Certainly not mid-project unless it’s going wrong. Not least, employees who face regular criticism will likely intentionally reduce their productivity. So, softening the emotional blow stifles their creativity. You want your employees to focus on the result that you seek rather than any intense negative emotion.
Ensure that all of your critical conversations are private. There’s nothing more humiliating than being criticised in front of colleagues or, indeed, anyone. Would you like it? Maintain a collaborative tone. Make it plain that your employee still has your support - and your respect. Without either, failure will ensue. Also, you should focus on potential future improvements rather than dwelling on past errors. On the other hand, over-praising becomes diluted by overuse and therefore yields diminishing returns.
High-performing people and organisations that appreciate them don’t happen by chance. Positivity and practical criticism play their part. There is no one right way to give feedback because the one giving feedback, let’s say, and the one receiving it, is unique in temperament, emotional intelligence, and how you process information. But get the balance right, and the result can be huge, for everyone concerned.
Vince Stevenson - Founder College of Public Speaking 2006 Ltd.
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