Issue 18 · 31 March 2010

A personal message from Joan

Welcome to the March edition of my newsletter. Spring has arrived and we've been planting a good number of new ideas here at 10MMT Towers which are just about coming into fruition (and I defy you to find a more cumbersome analogy than that one!!).

Firstly we’re in the process of thoroughly revamping the website in order to make it much simpler and therefore much more ‘user friendly’ (and not before time some would say). We’ll be re-launching the site after Easter – I’ll keep you posted.

Secondly we’re developing our training services offering with two new programmes ‘Sky Rocket Your Management Confidence’ and ‘Motivating Your Staff to Improve Their Performance with Positive Criticism – A Blended Learning Programme’. More details in the next newsletter but if you’d like to see a sneak preview just get in touch!

This month I’ve written the first in a series of articles I’m planning about one of the most challenging aspects of the manager’s job – giving positive criticism in order to improve performance. In this first article I look at the importance of focusing on behaviours (and believe me, when managers understand this concept their confidence in giving criticism sky rockets). I hope you find it useful and, as ever, I’d love to hear your feedback.

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How to give positive criticism – with the focus on behaviours

Most managers, in my experience, don’t find it too difficult to give criticism on the quantifiable element of their staff member’s performance. They don’t find it too difficult to say something like ‘We agreed you would produce 30 units a day. This record shows you’re producing 20. Can you agree there’s a problem here with your performance?’

The challenge

What many managers find much more challenging is giving criticism on the unquantifiable elements of the staff member’s performance. This is how managers often describe this type of issue to me:

• He’s got a poor attitude
• She lacks confidence
• He's not a team player
• She's arrogant

Clearly it’s not too hard to see the problem managers have with raising these types of issue. It is difficult to see a conversation going well based on an opening line ‘I want to talk to you about your attitude. It stinks’ (and if you think I’ve made that last statement up, I’m sorry to say I haven’t).

So how do you give this type of criticism?

The first step is to focus on behaviours, and only the behaviours. What you will notice from our managers' statements above is that they are talking about the staff member’s characteristics or personality traits. As you may have noticed from your own experience, criticising a person’s characteristics or personality traits very rarely works well. If ever. Criticism specifically focused on behaviours is much more likely to be understood and accepted. Here’s why.

1. Behaviours vs. Characteristics or Personality Traits

When a staff member receives criticism on their behaviours they generally ‘hear’ that criticism on the cognitive or intellectual level (‘in the head’).

When they receive criticism of their characteristics or personality they generally ‘hear’ that on the emotional level (’in the heart’).

Criticism based on our behaviours is easier to accept than criticism of our personality or characteristics because it is based on what we do, not on who we are.

Also, although most people believe they can change what they do, very few people believe they can change who they are.

A couple of examples:

A) If I were to say to you:

When you turn up late to team briefings it causes a problem (behaviour)

…it would probably feel easier to accept than if I were to say:

Your lack of commitment to the team is causing a problem (Characteristic / Personality trait)

B) When you interrupt me in front of a client it causes a problem (Behaviour)

…would probably feel easier to accept than:

Your arrogance is causing a problem (Characteristic /Personality trait)

So, criticism based on behaviours is both a) depersonalised and b) focused on the belief that the person can change. This makes it easier to accept and consequently easier to give.

2. Facts vs. Assumptions

The second reason that it’s easier to give criticism on behaviours is because behavioural criticism is based on facts not assumptions.

Examples:

A) When I talk about you turning up late for a meeting – that’s a fact.

When I talk about your lack of commitment – that’s an assumption.

B) When I talk about there being three errors in the report you gave me – that’s a fact.

When I talk about your lack of interest in your work – that’s an assumption.

The reality is I can’t actually know what your level of commitment or interest in your work is – I can only assume, or guess, based on my interpretation of your behaviours.

But it is assumption and it is guesswork and, putting aside any moral objection you might have to making assumptions about a person, assumptions can be argued against and facts cannot. And that’s why it’s a problem.

Another example:

Have you ever said to anyone ‘You just don’t listen!’?

Have you ever had the following response?

‘Your assumption that I don’t listen to you is absolutely correct. I rarely, if ever, pay attention to anything anyone else says. Thank you for pointing this out to me. I shall now endeavour to hang on to every word you say.’

I thought not.

Almost any criticism of characteristics or personality trait will be met with an argument.

Me: ‘You don’t listen’     You: ‘I do’

Me: ‘You’re not committed enough’     You: ‘I am’

And so it goes on.

3. Objectivity

When you focus on behaviours you can give examples:

Yesterday you came to the meeting 20 minutes late

There were three errors in the report you gave me

What examples give you is objectivity — because you’re talking about facts — and criticism that is seen as being objective is always easier to understand and accept.

A summary of the benefits of focusing on behaviours

1. It depersonalises the criticism as much as is possible – it’s not about the person. It is about what they do or have done.
2. Most people believe they can change what they do. Very few people believe they can change who they are.
3. It’s difficult to disagree with facts. It’s easy to disagree with assumption.
4. Facts bring objectivity. Objective criticism is easier to accept and easier to give.

Want to know more about this topic?

You can watch Session One from the video ‘Motivating your staff to improve their performance with positive criticism’ for FREE at www.10mmt.com.

In this session you can learn:

• How an iceberg can help you understand (and explain) the concept of behavioural criticism
• Why the focus on behaviours can be such a challenge
• A two step exercise for preparing to give criticism on behaviours

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Joan recommends

Motivating your staff to improve their performance with positive criticism

In this workshop I explain, in easily digestible 10 minute sessions, how to give criticism in a way that the staff member finds easy to understand and easy to accept, and which motivates the staff member to make a change – a change that leads to improvement.

Learning objectives

By the end of this workshop learners will be able to:

• Understand how positive criticism motivates the staff member to improve performance
• Identify and describe what the staff member is doing (or not doing) that is causing a problem
• Understand the difference between facts and assumptions – and why this is vital
• Explain the criticism in clear, objective, non-judgemental language
• Describe the results and consequences of the staff members actions in order to help them see the need for change and improvement
• Give the criticism, deal with reactions, gain agreement to improvement and develop solutions

Available in DVD format or as an e-book. Read more at www.10mmt.com or contact us on 0208 878 8993.

Very best wishes and a happy Easter

Joan

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Joan is the author and presenter of the 10 minute management toolkit. Her monthly newsletter is full of tips, hints and ideas on how managers can learn how to motivate their staff to high performance.

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