The Cruel, Bitter and Crushing Taste of Dump-Truck Feedback

April 17, 2012 By 7 Comments

Manure Delivery

Right after avoiding it, the most commonly employed managerial strategy for dealing with feedback is, delaying it. The first approach is poor form… the latter approach is cruel.

Have You Seen this Movie?

Place yourself in a setting where you are sitting down for your annual performance evaluation. In your mind, the year has been filled with smiles and pats on the back from the boss and co-workers. Your frame of reference is, All is Good,  and you are genuinely excited for the opportunity to talk to the boss about how you can contribute more.

This good feeling lasts for about 5 seconds into the conversation.

As quickly as the smile on the boss’s face fades, you’re being fed the first piece of the “But” sandwich, slathered in “To Be Honest With You” sauce. It sounds like this: “You’ve done great this year, But, to be completely honest with you, we have some concerns.”

The first bite tastes stale and rotten at the same time. And who the heck is “We” and why didn’t they tell you they had concerns? Never mind that the boss just confessed he was lying to you all along and is only now being truthful. (Note to everyone: use of the “to be honest with you phrase is a guaranteed credibility killer. Strike it from your vocabulary.)

As the reality sinks in that this conversation isn’t about what you’ve done right or what you can do to contribute more, you swear you can hear the beeping of the dump-truck as it backs up and prepares to unload a year’s worth of everything you did wrong, all at one time.

The above conversation takes place somewhere in a corporate office daily. I’ve heard this countless times, and most recently from a good friend.   Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of this stale, rotten sandwich and dump-truck criticism.  Feels good, doesn’t it?  Not.

While I would love to wave the proverbial magic wand and see all who abuse this most important of developmental tools, placed into feedback jail and rehabilitated, reality tells us that our primary focus must be on our own behaviors.

4 Steps You Can Take to Stomp Out Dump-Truck Feedback:

1. Frequently ask the boss for feedback. If “How am I doing” elicits a grunt and a snarl with no input, try variations, including, “What do you need me to do more of?” or, “What can I do to help improve performance?” or, “How can I better help you?”  Creating an opportunity for the conversation might just open a dialogue and keep the dump-truck in the parking lot.

2. Get this right when it’s your day. If you supervise or manage others, get this right from the start.

3. Teach good feedback practices. If you supervise or manage those who supervise or manage, teach the right behaviors and hold people accountable for getting this right with their people.

4. Give some feedback on the feedback. If you are victimized by  a “Dump Truck” approach while being force fed a “But” sandwich slathered in “to be honest with you” sauce, give some frank and professional feedback on the feedback process. And yes, I mean, good, behavioral and professional feedback…slightly different than the thoughts running through your mind. And then ask the questions in #1 above.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Everyone loses…the firm, the manager and the employee, when the manager delays giving feedback. Some managers may be beyond rehabilitation, but you control your own actions.Tips for strengthening your command of the feedback process are never more than a web search away. And, “to be honest with you,” (see, it doesn’t feel good, does it?), most professionals want and appreciate regular feedback…positive and constructive. As it becomes your turn to carry the management torch, make certain that the Feedback Dump Truck ends up on the scrap heap, along with the “But” sandwich and jar of “To Be Honest With ¥ou” sauce.

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Don’t miss the next Leadership Caffeine-Newsletter! Register here.

Art Petty is a Chicago-based management consultant focusing on strategy and leadership development. Art regularly speaks on innovation in management and leadership, and his work is reflected in two books, including the recent, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development. (download a free excerpt at Art’s facebook page.)

Art publishes regularly at The Management Excellence blog at http://artpetty.com/blog/

Prior to his solo career, Art spent 20+ years leading marketing sales and business units in systems and software organizations around the globe. You can follow Art on twitter: @artpetty and he can be reached via e-mail at art.petty@artpetty.com

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Leadership, Professional Growth, Surviving Lousy Leaders Tagged With: , , ,

At Least 10 More Things to Stop Doing if You’re the Boss

March 19, 2012 By 10 Comments

A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled, “At Least 20 Things to Stop Doing as a Leader” Reader comments quickly quadrupled that number. It seems there’s no shortage of Bad Boss habits.

Here’s a few more “fresh” suggestions  provided by clients for publication purposes since I wrote the original post.  (Note to readers, this and the predecessor post with comments are ideal for printing and quietly leaving behind on the boss’s chair.)

At Least 10 More Things to Stop Doing if You’re the Boss:

1. Cut what? Don’t expect us to heed your words on austerity/change/doing more with less if you’re not changing and you’re not cutting back. And thanks for telling me all about your new boat two weeks after we took a pay cut.  That was special.

2. Accountability is for Everyone. Stop avoiding THE performance problem on the team. We’re watching your own performance on this one, and you’re credibility clock is just about out of time.

3. If I Need a Friend, I’ll Get a Dog. Stop trying to be my friend and focus on being my boss. I need a boss who tells me what I’m doing right and importantly, what I’m doing wrong and holds me accountable to improving on all fronts. I don’t need someone who uses a faux friendship to avoid helping me grow.

4. Fewer Clown Rodeos, Please. Quit descending upon our facility like a conquering general expecting a parade. If you have to show up, why not show up unannounced and see what happens on a day when we’re all focused on working instead of worrying about entertaining the clown from corporate.

5. They Can’t All Be Strategic! Stop saying “yes” to every project that comes along. You’ve more than succeeded at ensuring that we have too few resources chasing too many projects. It’s time to learn that powerful word, “No.”

6. How Old Are You? Quit yelling at us in public. Come to think of it, quit yelling at us. Grow up.

7. Everyone on the Planet Except You Knows This! Stop shooting down our ideas in brainstorming meetings. You must have missed the day in life when they taught ALL OF US the rules of effective brainstorming.

8. Quit Hiding Under Your Desk. Stop dodging the angry customer calls and dumping them back on us. You might learn something.

9. Everyone on the Planet Except You Knows This, part 2. Quit trying to pass off your growth targets as strategies. Growth is an outcome, not a strategy!

10. Stop. Reverse That. Quit taking credit for everything that goes right and passing off blame for everything that goes wrong. You’ve got that backwards.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

If you’re the boss and you’re doing any of the above, cut it out. Seriously.

If you’ve got some more polite or not so polite suggestions for the boss, feel free to pass them along.

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Don’t miss the next Leadership Caffeine-Newsletter! Register here.

Art Petty is a Chicago-based management consultant focusing on strategy and leadership development. Art regularly speaks on innovation in management and leadership, and his work is reflected in two books, including the recent, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development.  Art publishes regularly at The Management Excellence blog at http://artpetty.com

Prior to his solo career, Art spent 20+ years leading marketing sales and business units in systems and software organizations around the globe. You can follow Art on twitter: @artpetty and he can be reached via e-mail at art.petty@artpetty.com

 

Filed Under: Leadership, Surviving Lousy Leaders Tagged With: , ,

Best of Management Excellence: Trying Not to Fail is Not the Same as Striving for Success

December 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

This post is excerpted from my collection: Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development. There’s a definite difference between focusing on not failing versus striving for success.

When we focus on not failing, fear rents most of the space in our mind, and we see monsters in need of slaying everywhere we turn. We lose track of the original vision that propelled our actions, and the sheer act of working becomes at best a passionless exercise and at worst, drudgery.

Lousy Leaders Thrive on Your Misery:

Sadly, many leaders provide fuel for the “don’t fail” machine through their actions.  Show me a project team or functional group that exhibit all of the energy and passion of a collection of late-night television zombies, and I’ll guarantee there’s one or more tyrannical, micro-managing leaders at the source of the dysfunction.

The Scarlet “F

The “don’t fail” disease isn’t limited to the corporate world.  I know small business owners and solopreneurs who have stepped into this gooey emotional muck during the past few years of economic unpleasantness. Instead of lessons-learned and fuel for problem solving and innovation, setbacks are worn for all to see as Scarlet F’s, where F stands for failure.  Of course, what they forget is that no one can really see the Scarlet F’s unless they go out of their way to project them through their attitudes.

You Own Your Attitude:

Striving not to fail is like walking up to take your turn at bat when the only thought running through your mind is, “don’t strike out.”  The last two words, “strike out” are all that you remember as you flail wildly at everything thrown your way.

If you’re caught up in an environment where an evil leader holds court, remember that you still own your attitude.  While it’s not easy to escape the fog of uncertainty and doubt created by these characters, it’s unlikely that their attempts at mind control can survive in a pitched battle against your own good attitude.

If you are your own boss and you feel weighted down and exposed by the scarlet F’s you believe you are carrying around with you, it’s critical to rediscover the feelings of excitement, hope and opportunity that likely propelled you off on your own in the first place.

Rediscover or Reset Your Sense of Purpose:

Somewhere buried beneath the baggage and stress of the past few years, you had a sense of purpose that fueled your efforts.  Whether it was providing for others or an intense desire to change the world, it’s important to scrape off the muck and recall that sense of greater mission.

Of course, we change over time, and what fueled us at one phase of life may not be so relevant at another stage.  I know many people who have recharged their lives and their work as professionals by resetting their sense of purpose from a focus on success to an emphasis on making a difference for someone or some group.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

It’s easy to focus on failure.  It’s a lot more fun, it’s a lot healthier and it darned well is a lot more inspiring to rationalize our efforts and actions and combat our demons in the context of our bigger purpose.

Those who focus on success see victory around every corner.  They view obstacles and setbacks as minor challenges to be overcome on a longer journey towards something worthwhile.

No one can take away your sense of purpose, unless you let them.  Focus your gaze clearly on the bigger picture and longer term, take a deep breath and then take the first step forward.  You’ll quickly remember that steps taken with a purpose in mind are effortless.

Now, keep moving.

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Art Petty is a developer of leaders and a strategy consultant. Art frequently speaks on leadership and management, and his work is reflected in two books (Practical Lessons in Leadership and Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development) and over 1-million words published at The Management Excellence blog. You can reach Art via e-mail to learn more about his leadership development and management consulting services.

Filed Under: Leadership, Professional Growth, Surviving Lousy Leaders Tagged With: , ,

Leadership Caffeine: Motivate with Context

April 25, 2011 By 13 Comments

Overheard:

Why are we doing this project?

I don’t know who is making these priority calls. They don’t make any sense.

We’re so far removed from the customer, no one notices what we do.

During my review, I was encouraged to innovate more. I don’t know what that means.

Context and the “Walk In the Door” Test:

In workshop settings, I frequently poll participants on what I call, “The Walk In the Door Test.” It goes something like this: “When you walk in the door in the morning, can you connect your priorities to the strategic priorities of your firm (or business unit)?”

I’m never surprised, but always disappointed that only about half of the participants admit they CAN connect their priorities to the important issues of their firm. The rest are honest (and frustrated) enough to admit in public, that they struggle with understanding the context for their work.

A few weeks ago, a corporate trainer indicated to me: “I’m not certain what the managers want their people to get out of the program, but I’m going to train them anyways.” Too bad for the participants.

Beware Context Deficit Disorder:

The employees quoted above, the disconnected and under-informed trainer and my honest survey respondents all share one thing in common…they all suffer from Context Deficit Disorder (CDD).

Too many mediocre managers and lousy leaders send their teams into battle on a daily basis armed with nothing more than a “go get ‘em,” and a metaphorical slap on the back.  There’s no connection between the work and the key objectives of the firm or the pursuit of creating value for customers.

Think of the many mediocre (or worse) customer experiences you encounter in a typical week. There’s the inattentive server, the cashier who never makes eye contact, the grumpy phone support personnel or, my favorite, the guard dog receptionist you came up against at the doctor’s office.  They all lack proper context for their work.  (We’ll leave the doctor who rushes through your examination seemingly on a mission to set a new land-speed record for spending as little time as possible with patients, for another topic on another day!

These individuals lack context for the importance of their work and the impact they have on people who vote with their dollars and feet. I’ll dump the blame squarely on the shoulders of the managers who allow their people to engage with others without providing clarity for their mission and building in accountability for carrying it out in good form.

Forget the Posters and Cheerleading and Instead, Provide Clear Context:

We waste fortunes inside our organizations on misguided programs and oddball incentives, seeking ways to motivate and inspire people to work hard, innovate, create, care and to live up to their potential, when the real solution is literally on the tip of our tongues.

People do their best work when they understand how their work fits into the bigger picture. This is the critical context that fuels revolutions, promotes perseverance and encourages creativity. People working for a cause are exponentially more powerful than people working for a paycheck. Management by paycheck is little more than motivating people at the end of a gun barrel.  Alternatively, management by context creates a sense of purpose that is essential for tapping into people’s extra stores of energy and their best creativity.

Of course, context comes in many sizes and shapes. I don’t necessarily expect the front-line cashier to be familiar with the nuances of the firm’s strategies, however, I do expect this individual to have an absolutely clear understanding of how customers help the business go and grow. Alternatively, the project manager leading a major new development initiative must understand how the project fits into the firm’s future plans to open new markets, capture more customers and beat competitors.

While the level and detail of context may vary by position and mission, it must be present for everyone all of the time.

5 Ideas for Curing Context Deficit Disorder

1. Establish connectivity. Never ask someone to do something with out linking the request to a clear business rationale.

2. Create forums to improve understanding. Provide opportunities for the people doing the work to ask questions about the value of the work.

3. Create forums to improve understanding, part 2. Don’t keep the strategic issues locked in a drawer. Share liberally on the big picture issues in your market and with your customers and involve people in translating high-level goals into meaningful and connected front-line activities.   Help your people improve their “Walk in the Door Test” results!

4. Make metrics meaningful. If you are going to the trouble of developing scorecards and other systems of measurement, make certain you both share and explain the metrics to the people being measured.

5. Provide opportunities for the people doing the work to share ideas for improvement. And then let them implement these ideas.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

This topic reminds me of the old story about the workers moving a pile of rocks.  When asked what he is doing, the first worker indicates, “I’m moving this pile of rocks from here to there.” The second one is asked the same question and responds,  “I’m helping to build a cathedral.” I certainly know which one I want on my team.  Do your employees and team members see the future cathedrals in their work at your organization?

Filed Under: Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Performance, Strategy, Surviving Lousy Leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Flim-Flam Man, If You Were a Motorboat, and Other Moronic Interview Adventures

March 7, 2011 By 4 Comments

Note from Art: I manage to be on the receiving end of frequent, horrific boss and interview stories from blog readers, twitter followers and colleagues around the globe. The level of what I describe as “moronocity” in the hiring community is off-the-charts, at a time when securing great talent has never been more important.

-Overheard: Business Owner to Prospective Marketing Employee:

“Walk around the business at your fastest working pace and find 3 branding inconsistencies.”

Upon returning, Owner to Prospective Employee:

“You were pretty slow. If you were a speedboat, what speed would you move at?”

The Ideal Response: “I don’t know, but why don’t you time me as I head out the door.”

-Overheard: British CEO in the U.S. to Prospective Executive Candidate:

“I never know whether to trust anything you Americans say. You all talk flim-flam.”

The Ideal Response after, “Huh?”: “Dude, did you seriously just insult everyone in America?”

-Overheard: HR Professional to Prospective Candidate after candidate asked for additional specificity on the job beyond the very brief ad.

“The ad was sufficient, you don’t need to know more than that.”

The Ideal Response: “You’re right, I don’t need to know anymore.  Pretend I’m a motorboat and try and guess how fast I’m going as I head out the door!”

-Overheard: HR Professional during Reference Check to Candidate’s Valued Reference:

“No, we’re not certain exactly what the job entails yet, but why do you think she would be good for the job?”

The Ideal Response after, “Huh?”: “How fast do motorboats go?”

-Overheard: HR Professional after listening to glowing reference from a former boss of the candidate’s.

“Huh? Who are you talking about?”

The Ideal Response: I don’t know..I’m speechless on this one. Readers?

-Overheard: Speedboat Business Owner above responding to candidate’s question on how job performance will be measured.

Tersely: “How do you think it should be measured?”

The Ideal Response: “Take the average rate of a speedboat moving through your restaurant, multiply by 20, and then divide by the number of customers in a month and square the result.”

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Had enough yet?

At a point in time when great people have never been more essential to survival and success, I hear horror stories like this on a weekly basis. I wish I was making these up. They’re great examples of hiring professionals shooting themselves in both feet and then jamming the bloody stumps right in their own mouths.

While it’s a buyer’s market for warm bodies, it’s always a seller’s market for great talent. Great talent won’t tolerate those practices for a second.

May these hiring morons and horse’s hind ends suffer the torture of 1,000 incompetent boobs for their next hires.

Filed Under: Career, Surviving Lousy Leaders Tagged With: , ,
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