INsight/ Giving Effective Feedback
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Photo by Geralt on Pixabay
Manila, 14 August 2019 — Getting the best from your staff starts with your feedback skills.
Why Staff Leave
“People quit their boss, not their job.”
This often-quoted adage has been a sad reality in businesses and organizations around the world for a long time. Problems with managers are exacerbating the low scores in employee engagement that have been well documented over the years by Gallup and other researchers.
It’s more than bosses. It’s also the work cultures they allow to continue.
Not everyone quits, of course. Many stay, often for other reasons, such as stability, benefits, and their children’s education. In staying, they often accept to continue suffering from a work culture that stifles recognition, learning and development. Low engagement continues, and that makes it so much harder for the business to innovate and compete in the market with outstanding services and products. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Businesses under Siege
When investigating employee engagement around the world in 2018 and 2019, Kincentric, a consultancy, found that business agility, leadership, and talent focus are all under siege. Talent focus was reported to be down in all regions, showing that businesses have a challenge to attract the right people and retain them. Staff engagement again.
To do better, culture, learning and development opportunities are key. As Kincentric states it: “organizations don’t change—people do.” The key to turning the challenges around is for managers and team leaders to show an interest in your staff and colleagues, and to work on your communication.
What I learned in my experience is that to lead change, in your business, organization, or project, you do have to start with the people involved. They are the key to any change you want to see. That applies whether you will lead change top-down, bottom-up, or by working shoulder-to-shoulder in teams.
Your Feedback Skills
An excellent place to start putting people at the center of your change strategy is to work on giving effective feedback. Regardless of your position, how you give feedback becomes part of your signature as a leader, for how you show up in situations at work, and what you become known for as a colleague, boss, or report.
That is why Feedback is the first theme we pick up in the Community of Leaders that is starting this week.
Among the tools we will explore to improve our feedback behaviors are 1) a short sentence that you can use anytime, 2) a more elaborate sentence that you design for impact, and 3) a palette you choose from for different people and situations. Using these tools will make an impact right away and change the experience that people around you have at work.
Community of Leaders
So what is the Community of Leaders about?
It brings together leaders from around the world, and from different generations, who want to influence positive change in their workplace. And it’s built around a challenge: to invite three colleagues to collaborate and experiment together with you on how to influence a positive change in your workplace (business, organization, or project). And to level up your communication and leadership skills in the process.
If that sounds like a community you’re interested in, then sign up to join the pre-join discussion and let us know what you want to find in a community of leaders, what’s the change you want to influence in your workplace, and any questions you want to get answered.
Here are three guidelines to help you explore if it will be good fit.
Yes — if you are passionate to influence positive change in your workplace and you are an executive, an expert, or an emerging leader with at least two years of working experience after your college degree.
Yes — if you are an engineer, city planner, water manager, social entrepreneur, or other development professional and you are inspired by a big purpose for sustainability, social impact, people-planet-prosperity, or responsible climate action.
Yes — if you are ready to get out of your comfort zone and take on the challenge of growing leaders around you to influence change together in your workplace, while also leveling up your own communication and leadership skills in the process.
Membership is by invitation and free of charge—not free of commitment.