Tactful Criticism
"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing and be nothing." Elbert Hubbard
I've coached hundreds of leaders. With each person we start the coaching journey with self-awareness. I use the Forté Institute’s® Communication Intelligence Survey and Assessment. This assessment measures strengths in dominance, introversion/extroversion, patience, and conformity. Among other factors, such as logic style, goal achievement, motivators and de-motivators, the survey sometimes warns against criticism against the person offering caution to anyone interacting with them. I always coach leaders to offer feedback to their people, which often comes in the form of criticism. However, I urge them to offer it tactfully. Here is a way.
Katy Foster who writes for Thomas.com, a professional site serving manufacturing offers, "6 Ways to Tactfully Provide Constructive Criticism to Someone You Manage." They are,
Gain Trust First.
Try Not to Over-Emphasize
Make the Learning Mutual
Make it About the Behavior, Not the Person
Time it Right
Make a Plan
I'll focus here on #4.
Angela's pace is not where it needs to be. She is smart, talented, and thorough but often misses deadlines. Angela is sensitive to criticism. You'll want to navigate your conversation with her carefully to avoid fight or flight.
"Angela, it is clear you are struggling to keep pace with deadlines for the projects you are assigned. You are smart, talented, and thorough, which I admire, but I want to work with you on this challenge. What do you think is causing it?" Angela may offer reasons such as being distracted too much and or her pursuit of perfection. Focusing on the behavior and not the person, her leader could dig deeper. "Talk to me about distractions. What are they? How do they happen?" Angela may describe situations and environments where she gets distracted, disrupting her workflow. Her leader can then help change her environment, offering her private space or coach her remove those things or events which disrupt her flow.
Note the non-confrontational approach to this. The leader moves directly to the behavior of being distracted as if it were another person. He or she shifts from "you need to fix that," to "Let's tackle the distraction challenge together." Indeed more discovery may be required if Angela fails to explain what distracts her. The leader could use "why is that?" as a curious approach digging for root causes of her lack of productivity.
I'll add, the leader must focus on criticism for the sake of the team. It is unwise to state, "Angela, I need you to work on your pace for me." Instead, "Angela, I offer this criticism and I'd like your commitment to personal improvement for the sake of the greater team and our mission."
You've got to criticize. For not to do so is to stifle the learning and growth of your people. Just do so tactfully. It will be received, and acted upon much better.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell