Giving Constructive Criticism

It’s a fact of life we can’t avoid. Whether it’s working in a professional environment, learning in the educational realm, or interacting with friends or family, at some point in time we all have to face criticism.  How we may perceive that criticism depends on whether we are on the giving or receiving end.

When done right, constructive criticism is not meant to hurt or humiliate a person.  Rather, constructive criticism is meant to build a person and push him / her to reach the next level of success. Learning how to give constructive criticism makes a difference in regards to how others view an individual and also how he or she demonstrates leadership.  This issue of Astronology takes a deeper look into how to give constructive criticism in the workplace.

The Fundamentals of Giving Effective Constructive Criticism

If someone needs to give constructive criticism to an individual, it is highly important to find an instrumental time to share this feedback. ChangingMinds.org, a website dedicated to the book Changing Minds in Detail by David Straker, advises, “When criticism is needed, do not avoid it, although you should pick your moment.”  Other tips include the following:

• Do not criticize in public

There’s nothing worse than being publicly embarrassed, even if the mistake is small.   It is better to give the recipient his or her dignity and due privacy.

• Be specific

Explain exactly where the person can improve.  Specifics can help the person receiving the constructive criticism to understand that he or she is not incompetent, and can make some adjustments in a specific area to become better.

• Check for understanding

Ensure that the criticism is understood clearly to help erase any doubts the person may have that he or she is being singled out as a target.  Rather, the feedback is for his or her benefit.

• Check that the individual knows the positive future change focus

Part of making sure that the criticism is understood includes checking to make certain that the individual perceives the feedback is for positive future change.

• Discuss what happens next…support the person in moving forward

Make the discussion a positive dialogue by addressing what happens next. This includes creating goals or steps to move forward.  This step also allows the individual to feel confident he or she has the support needed, and to view the criticism positively.

Psychotherapist Dr. Barton Goldsmith Ph. D. also noted that tone of voice and eye contact are also essential when giving criticism.  Both communicate sincerity, which demonstrates to the recipient that he or she is receiving positive council.

The Top Three Ways to Give Bad Constructive Criticism

Usnews.com published an article entitled “7 Mistakes Bosses Make When Giving Criticism.”  Three of these critical mistakes include the following:

• Not Putting The Criticism in Context 

By not putting the criticism in context, the individual can become confused as to how the criticism fits with his or her goals within the organization. This may also lead to the person to ignore the feedback.

• Not Explaining Consequences

By not explaining the consequences for not taking action as a result of the constructive criticism, the person provided the feedback leaves himself open to misunderstanding and unnecessary “office drama” between workers who did not understand the possible consequences sooner.

 

• Not Having Consequences

Just as bad as not explaining consequences is not having them at all. The goal is not to “scare” employees into changing.  Rather, it’s imperative to communicate that change is necessary in order to help motivate.  Having some consequences helps to remind employees that they play important roles in the success of their organizations, and that they must continue to make progress in order to help build their organizations.

Criticism, even when it’s constructive, can sometimes hurt. In the workplace, it is highly important that the person tasked with giving constructive criticism do so in such a manner that gives the receiver of the feedback due respect and dignity. Sharing feedback privately, making sure the information is clear and helpful, and providing it in a positive and supportive manner are all important steps in making a potentially challenging conversation a positive one.

Disappearing Jobs, Fiancial Advice and King James

Want to know if your job is being eliminated? Well, the first place to look is to see if the industry you work in is disappearing. To help with that, Yahoo! Finance and CBS Money Watch have put together a list of high-paying jobs that are disappearing (H/T Wendy). Let's just say that if you were planning to work in sports journalism, you may want to rethink that decision.

Want to know why you can't treat your employees better than their manager? Well, look at the situation going on in Miami with the Heat, their star player, LeBron James, and their head coach, Erik Spoelstra as told by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. This one passage should make most managers and Human Resources professionals cringe: "The fundamental problem for Spoelstra isn’t that James doesn’t respect coaches – he doesn’t respect people. Give LeBron this, though: He’s learned to live one way with the television light on, and another with it off. He treats everyone like a servant, because that’s what the system taught him as a teenage prodigy. To James, the coach isn’t there to mold him into the team dynamic. He’s there to serve him." Eek.

Most people don't want to invest their own pensions, 401(K)s or IRAs, but if you do, there may be a book by two former Wall Street honchos you may want to pick up. As told by the New York Times: "when Mr. Murray, a former bond salesman for Goldman Sachs who rose to the managing director level at both Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston, decided to cease all treatment five months ago for his glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, his first impulse was not to mourn what he couldn’t do anymore or to buy an island or to move to Paris. Instead, he hunkered down in his tiny home office here and channeled whatever remaining energy he could muster into a slim paperback. It’s called “The Investment Answer,” and he wrote it with his friend and financial adviser Daniel Goldie to explain investing in a handful of simple steps."

Happy Hanukkah to fall my fellow Jews out there. May your nights be full of light and your bellies be full of oily foods. Even without the presents, it's probably my favorite holiday.

Happy Labor Day

On Labor Day, be thankful to those who do labor for you: your employees. But while you and they are probably enjoying a day off, let's take a look at some links about your labor force.

First from the Wall Street Journal, an article from two weeks ago that got a lot of attention: "The End of Management." It's a provocative piece that makes you think if you would really be better off having managers who act like venture capitalists. It would certainly mean interesting things for the labor force.

Also from the Wall Street Journal, an older article that talks about how Goldman Sachs is banning naughty words in their e-mails, making sure their labor force doesn't use any language that will show up controversially in a congressional hearing like they had this past summer.

Next, from Yahoo! Finance via Bloomberg Businessweek, a nod to napping in the office (H/T Wendy). While before it was an act that could get employees fired, this article says that companies are more and more encouraging their labor force to get some zzz's at the workplace.

Lastly, from the New York Times Career Couch, a Q&A that asks about the separation between church and cubicle, among other labor-related topics.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your holiday BBQs!

Google, Twitter and Employee Surveys

-First up on our Friday is Wallet Pop which has an article about Google fighting brain drain with an algorithm

-Social Media Today continues by talking about Twitter and the cost to a company by judging the opportunity cost of not allowing employees to use it during work hours

-Lastly, HR Resource talks about the value of employee engagement surveys as part of a change management strategy

Have a great weekend!

Michael Scott's Rules For Management

Amazing...I can't believe I haven't seen this before...

For those who love the Office...

From Harvard Business School: click here

Also from US News and World Report, what to do with a boss like Michael Scott (hint: career coach): click here

And USA Today has lessons from the world's greatest inept boss: click here

Girls Gone Wild

A title sure to get some people's attention...

But we start off with an article from Fistful of Talent which has the author's worst interviews of all time including a story about a girl who went a little wild...and told about it: click here

Also from Fistful of Talent, an interesting article about Brett Favre wrecking a succession plan in Green Bay: click here

Next, Employee Evolution asks if it's worth it to blog about Generation Y? click here

McArthur's Rant rants about how to deal with Negative Nancies as Managers: click here

And an interesting Yahoo! Hotjobs Q&A about whether it's OK to lie on a job resume: click here

(Credit to Jim Stroud and Industry Radar for some of these fine Humpday links)

Clinton and Obama as Managers

Leave it those Neanderthals over there at Harvard to bring in another aspect into the mudslinging of candidates in this political race between John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: click here

(Just kidding on that...I went to Brandeis so we have much love to our brethren down the Charles River...and even more love for their business cases)

Without getting into a real political discussion here, it's amazing that this hasn't been brought up more often. Especially the "Managing People" aspect. President Bush has done an unbelievably inept job at this in his time as President between "Scooter" Libby and his two Attorney Generals (the latter of which got into a lot of hot water over his "Managing People" skills) and the scores of other officials around him (don't forget FEMA and the whole Katrina disaster) who turned out to be incapable of handling their job, incapable of managing others, or just totally inept.

And lets not forget Bush hasn't done a great job at "Managing Money" either, as highlighted by this article in the New York Times: click here

Mr. Robert Hormats [vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International] mentioned Social Security and Medicare, saying that both could have been put “on a more sustainable basis.” And he cited the committee’s own calculations from last fall that showed that the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year, or make a year of college affordable for 160,000 low-income students through Pell Grants, or pay the annual salaries of nearly 11,000 additional border patrol agents or 14,000 more police officers.

We'll let that sink in.........

Ok...and let's also not forget the whole "Managing Expectations" aspect either: click here

So do I agree with the article? Not completely. Leaving McCain out of the article completely but instead referencing him in passing at the end was not exactly the most even-handed way to do it.

And I think that both Senators Clinton and Obama both have "Managing People" problems. Obama's have definitely shown up recently with his association with Tony Rezko and Clinton's are most prevalently with her own husband--which is another story completely (and could go towards keeping those under your watch under wraps and in control).

And while "Manager" may be a broader title, for the Human Resource aspect the money management realm, while important, is not really relevant.

But the idea is a good one--which candidate would make a good Human Resource Manager. Because those thirsty for change, don't want President Bushes running their country and those in charge won't want President Bushes running their companies.

Update: Yeah...about "Hilldog" and her ability to Manage People: click here

Bad Weather? Don't Commute; Telecommute

It is snowy and rainy here in New York....and commuting to work is really bad so we start out on this Wednesday with the StatesmanJournal in Oregon telling us that when the weather turns, people should embrace the telecommuting option: click here

Next, following up on a previous blog entry, a FOX Business article about proposed changes to the FMLA: click here

Uh-oh...here comes that HR chick--said the Orlando Sentinel in this article whose title may irk a few of you: click here

Lastly, Management-Issues from the UK asks what is it about HR that has it rising in importance in so many organizations: click here

Diversity

The key buzzword is back again with this Q&A from the Boston Globe's BostonWorks Hiring Hub with three trends in corporate diversity: click here

Next, on to the New York Times where they say that for a franchise, success is in the hiring: click here

The New York Times also has some advice for how to lose your job on your own time: click here

One more from the New York Times talking about the role of life coaches: click here

We go to our new link-partner HR Daily Advisor who says that now your worst moments are on YouTube: click here

Lastly, we go to one of our fellow bloggers with an article about Human Resource Management: click here

Don't Make Work Your Primary

Although it may be Primary time, the New York Times starts us out by letting you know that making it's time to take a Secondary look at talking about your politics or wearing your campaign button at work, among other topics in this Q&A: click here

We go back to the New York Times for an old article still prescient about job growth fading fast: click here

The Business Review (Albany) has an article which says that telecommuting can hurt office morale: click here

From the Boston Globe's BostonWorks Ask The HR Expert we get some answers in this Q&A about Benefits and Compensation: click here

Next, from HR Daily Advisor, they post the question: Is coaching the new management? click here

Lastly, some HR Management news from Occupational Health and Safety has news that the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) President/CEO is about to retire: click here

Smart? How Smart?

Not exactly the Get Smart motto, but our title, nonetheless...

We apologize for missing you yesterday but how is this for catching up?

From the New York Times, a simple question: How Smart Is Your Manager?: click here

Next, Human Resource Executive Online writes about employee engagement: click here

Also from Human Resources Executive Online, an article that CEOs are getting that talent management is important: click here

From the Arizona Republic, word that more companies are offering fitness benefits for employees: click here

CNN and Careerbuilder to team up on this list of six tips to managing workplace conflict: click here

Lastly, from Workforce Management, an answer to the question of what are HR Certifications worth: click here

Small Biz Healthcare Reform

First, from CNNMoney and Fortune Small Business, word that the Senate is considering small business healthcare reform: click here

From Business Week, an article about Asia's hunger for management talent: click here

Lastly, from the Wall Street Journal's CollegeJournal, a column in their On The Job section of when performance reviews don't meet potential: click here

Who Pays?

The questions is always out there in any profession, but definitely when labor and management get together for negotiations, and definitely when it comes to protection and who pays for the worker's protection, as covered by the Washington Post: click here

The Boston Globe writes that both workers and Human Resources could benefit from talking about what went wrong when someone gets fired: click here

Lastly, also from the Boston Globe, a story about how MTV has aquired a professor-rating Website...imagine if they had that for all employees: click here

Managing the Cold

Throughout the Midwest and Northeast, residents are trying to manage the cold...

Which is a lot like the task of management trying to manage needy employees, according to Amy Joyce: click here

According to the Boston Globe, little rituals in the workday for employees help to save time and build ties: click here

And, lastly, a Q&A which says that skirting recruiters is OK, but really may not be in the best interest of the job seeker: click here