Planned Spontaneous Reinforcement

On your next commute to work, identify one or two specific behaviors you hope to see members of your team exhibiting that day (e.g., lending a hand to a teammate to get a job done better, providing encouragement to a peer, suggesting an item to add to the agenda of the next team meeting, etc.). If you see the behavior displayed during that workday , it is time to provide some constructive feedback, as we discussed in chapter 5. Make sure you start by describing the behavior you saw performed. Use language in your first sentence that is descriptive and nonjudgmental. Be a mirror that helps people look at themselves objectively. In order for your efforts to have a developmental impact, you need to get their attention. Attention is a prerequisite to learning. Feedback provides the focus for the learning. If you, as leader, can turn work into an ongoing learning experience, you will be enhancing the quality of the work lives of the people on your team.

On the following commute to work, identify some behaviors you hope you will not see teammates performing that day (e.g., returning late from breaks or lunch , ridiculing a fellow team member's ideas, etc.). If you do see any of these behaviors demonstrated, be sure the first words out of your mouth are again descriptive and nonjudgmental. Since feedback that is solicited is more powerful than feedback that is imposed, first check to see if feedback is desired. Start your attempt to provide feedback with a statement like, "I have noticed some things about your behavior on the team. Would you like to hear my observations?" If the person says yes, turn it back around. By that I mean, ask her to state what she has noticed about her behavior on the team that day. She may bring up the very issue you want to bring up, and this may take the sting out of having it pointed out by someone else. If there is additional feedback you want to provide, stick to the facts and then check to see if she agrees with your description. Be specific rather than general. If there is agreement as to what is happening, ask her what she thinks the facts mean. Ask whether she thinks the behavior has any consequences ”good or bad. If you do end up making a judgment statement, criticize the behavior or idea, not the person. Don't say things like, "You must have been nuts to try to ." Don't say things that imply the person is inadequate. Focus on the actual behavior and the potential consequences to performance. But if the person says no to your offer of observations, then you have to make a judgment call. If the incident is not too serious, you might let it slide and then if it happens again, impose the feedback on the individual. Or you might feel you need to impose the feedback on the individual right then and there.

Direct the feedback toward things that the receiver can do something about. If the issue boils down to a matter of differences in values, emphasize the tangible effects of the differences. Do not try to convince the person he should think or feel differently. Make sure the discussion does not center on who is at fault but rather what can be done behaviorally to make a difference in performance. Allow the receiver to suggest changes in behavior before offering options yourself. If the feedback leads to agreements, summarize who will do what with whom by when at the end of the conversation.

Remember, feedback does not mean criticisms only. You need to provide feedback regarding behaviors that are truly strengths as well. You need to reinforce talent and not take it for granted. You need to get team members to identify strategies to make even better use of their talents in addition to attempting to correct deficiencies. Your ability to provide feedback effectively completes the reinforcement cycle needed to motivate people to deliver their talent for the sake of the team.