Dear Readers FFEDBACK Is the weapon of Champions. How many times do you think Sachin Tendulkar would have gone through the videos of his getting out in various matches he played? Feedback propels us to have a relook at our actions or inactions so that we are ready for the future, a bit better every time. How should we use the event? A champion would seek while an escapist would look the other way. How do you celebrate the events of feedback? If not, whY not! Cheers, Rajiv Khurana Editor rajiv@rajivkhurana.com 9810211256.

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Giving FEEDBACK 2-3

Receiving FEEDBACK 4

10 Common Mistakes in Giving Feedback

5-6

Gain Strength by throwing your weight around

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Quotes on FEEDBACK 10

In this issue…

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#33 December 1, 2014

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Advt. Pages 11-12

We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve. Bill Gates

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GIVING

FEEDBACK Feed-back as early as possible Strike the iron when it is red-hot. The memory and experience is fresh. Connectivity shall be better. Receptivity should be good when it is packed correctly. This also provides ample opportunity for the person to change the course of his performance before it is too late to mend.

Examine behaviour Look at the instances of behaviour that are contributing towards better results as well the ones that are hampering the outcome. Help the person examine the behaviour he needs to Start, Sustain or Start. Use right examples. Focus on facts instead of your own presumptions and surmises.

Enable actions Be futuristic. Avoid post-mortem. Focus on actions that are needed for better performance. Coach, Guide or Facilitate. Be a role model too. Your demonstrated skills are much better benchmarks for the person to make note of the standards he needs to reach, retain or cross.

Display a positive outlook A feedback session is not to take out all the negativity you have been nurturing against the person based on what others say. Display your balance and positivity. This is an opportunity to find new ways to do old things or work with a changed behaviour. After the feedback, the person must feel good about himself and you.

Rajiv Khurana CMC, FIMC

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Build understanding for future support Your job is not over after the feedback has shot the target. You may need to revisit or review occasionally. Set a timeline. Help develop some action plan by the person. Seek the role he expects for support. Ensure that you devote the time as planned and follow up regularly.

Ask and involve the person about delivery style How would you know that you are doing well unless you know how to know your performance standards? Involve the person. He is the best guy to tell you the packaging part of the delivery. Something that makes him comfortable and not edgy. Anything palatable for him would always be welcomed by him.

Catch people doing things right Stop being the negativity hunter and nagger. Generally we catch those occasional short-falls and keep cribbing about them instead of looking at the larger part that went very well but un-noticed by you. Observe it. Catch it. Appreciate it. The person himself would become careful to do away with the –ve.

Keep the language simple and polite Being a senior does not give you the license to be rude or impolite. Use the etiquette you learnt in your family and school. Keep your words simple and unambiguous. Skip jargons or mother-hood statements. Ensure that at the end of the feedback session, both of you are on the same side and wave- length. Thrive on your bonding.

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#33 December 1, 2014

GIVING

FEEDBACK

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#33 December 1, 2014

Feel grateful that the feedback will help

you improve for future

Express openness

Examine the facts and remain rational

Demonstrate a positive body language

Build confidence in the person with your

seriousness and commitment

Ask for clarification if facts, content or

delivery mismatches

Complement the person giving you

feedback

Keep a winner’s mind. Feedback is the

weapon of CHAMPIONS.

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8 Action Points to receive FEEDBACK

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There’s good reason that you aren’t eager about

giving feedback to the people you work with: It’s

hard to do. You might say something you’ll regret

later. People are too emotional.

All of these reasons top the list among leaders,

managers and executives on why they don’t think

they give good, consistent feedback. Steer clear of

these 10 blunders when giving feedback:

Mistake #1: The feedback judges individuals, not

actions Putting feedback in judgmental terms puts

people on the defensive. And you’ve sent the

message that you know what is right or wrong.

Mistake #2: The feedback is too vague. Steer clear

of generalized, cliche’ catch phrases. If you want to

really encourage someone to repeat productive

behavior, you have to let them know what they did

so they can keep doing it.

Mistake #3: The feedback speaks for others. Stick

with the information that you know. Dragging a third

party’s name into the mix only confuses the

recipient, who then wonders why others are talking

about them behind their back.

Mistake #4: Negative feedback gets sandwiched

between positive messages. It may seem like a

good idea to unburden the blow of negative

comments with positive ones, but the recipient is

smart enough to read between the lines, too.

Mistake #5: The feedback is exaggerated with

generalities. Avoid those two little words, “always”

and “never.” It puts people on the defensive because

there is usually that one time…

#33 December 1, 2014

10

Common Mistakes in Giving Feedback

Source: http://www.leadingeffectively.com/10-common-mistakes-in-giving-feedback

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Mistake #6: The feedback psychoanalyzes the motives behind behavior. It could be a relationship issue, resentment over a co-worker’s advancement, or burnout, but whatever you think you know about someone’s intents and motives is probably dead wrong. Mistake #7: The feedback goes on too long. Know when to stop. People need time to process the information they have received. Mistake #8: The feedback contains an implied threat. Telling someone their job is in jeopardy doesn’t reinforce good behavior or illustrate bad behavior. It only creates animosity. Mistake #9: The feedback uses inappropriate humor. You might use sarcasm as a substitute for feedback, especially if you are uncomfortable giving it in the first place. Keep the snide comments to yourself. Mistake #10: The feedback is a question, not a statement. Phrasing feedback as a question is too indirect to be effective. And it may even be interpreted as sarcastic. Really? Learning from your mistakes is important. Have you encountered any of these common mistakes during your career?

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Gain Strength by throwing your weight around

Some time back I was enjoying a holiday with my family in a five star hotel in South India. Raised voices on the breakfast table on our left immediately attracted us. While my family found the sitting person scolding the standing person, a very rude behavior early in the morning, I could spell a senior manager making his presence felt to the low level supervisor. The scene changed immediately when the Director-look-alike gentleman entered the restaurant with his XXXL size wife. The supervisor vanished from the scene, the senior manager left his breakfast and stood near the table on our right in a perfect ‘attention’ pose. Great teamwork emerged as I could see the ‘supervisor’ forcing the restaurant staff to serve the ‘buffet breakfast’ right at the table. Un-mindful of what was going around, the VIP-Couple was basking in the “total commitment” and “attentiveness”. The senior manager was anticipating every need and the supervisor was ensuring the last seconds of the perfect deliveries. The fork fell out of the hand of the big boss and the senior manager almost dived to catch it putting the Indian cricketers to shame. He perhaps needed more practice to hold on to the catch. I was particularly amused with his “sorry, very sorry Sir” which he uttered7 times in less than 20 seconds. By this time, the attention of my wife had diverted. I did not have the courage to see her admiration for the diamonds, which the BOBB was wearing. Call her anything – Biwi [wife] of Big Boss or Boss of Big Boss. I am too scared to ask my wife whether marrying a lonesome consultant was a good big idea in her life!

#33 December 1, 2014

Rajiv Khurana CMC, FIMC

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Dictum of Darwin can be extended easily to corporates even though ‘Cannibalism’ does not happen in civilized societies. Eating pride, self-respect, ego etc. of others is nothing short of it. In a world, where only the ‘fittest of the fit’ can survive, the fittest has to play the games out of the rulebook. Though my example only reflects a limited dimension of what goes on, the ingenuity of the game player to become fitter or fittest is very interesting. If you have not learnt this art, what are you waiting for? Start today to become SIMPLE – Self Indulgent & Manipulative Person Leading with Ease. Let me share with you some very simple steps to become SIMPLE. 1.Fake indifference and ignorance. The more important you wish to be, the more it is necessary to forget names, contexts and events. The battery of people around you will make sure that the right information in the right quantum reaches you at the right time. Your indifference can be viewed by people as impartial, non-involved or non-aligned. Serves you right. Hold back your temptation to show interest in people or activities. People will jump to take advantage of your proximity with them. This against the principle of becoming SIMPLE. 2.Maintain a serious disposition. People can start relaxing or take you as granted if you smile at them. This also exposes you to the risk of showing your dentures or plaque. A serious disposition can make people uncertain. They will work harder to see a glitter of appreciation in your eyes. Deny them. Appreciation can make them complacent. Complacency affects performance. You cannot take such a risk in this trying and testing economy.

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3. Talk more, listen less – One of the perquisites of becoming senior is that you can make others listen to you – anytime, anywhere and any long. This is quite the opposite of what you may encounter in your family. Enjoy the limelight. Use action replays share the same old jokes. The intensity of laughter will never come down so long as you occupy your position. Listening less has its own advantage. The less you know of the problems of others, the less will be their expectations and hence less will be the trouble for you. 4. Hijack Conversations: Remember the Parkinson's Law - the time spent on discussions is inversely proportional to the significance. Use it. Critical decisions are never taken in the meetings. They are conceived outside and religiously guarded inside the meeting place. Distraction is a good way. Talk about anything - from cricket to criticizing films, people will love it. Who does not like a good time spent in an air-conditioned environment with free and tasty refreshments! 5. Praise yourself - No body knows more than what you know about yourself. Keep digging for facts and fiction of your life. There will be some learning from every leaf of your life for the lesser mortals around you. They will lap it up. How else will they get a chance to polish your ego with un-ending butter if you do not give them enough clues? The older your stories, the more contemporaries the application shall be. Try some of your own ideas too. Tom Peters wrote a big book on "Simplicity." He is making millions. You too have the potential to be SIMPLE. Get started. You will find enough people like me to watch you. Consultants cannot go beyond that. They can't even make their wife turn her face away from the diamonds. Big Bosses have bigger diamonds for the BOBB - Biwi of the Big Boss. Remember that.

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No matter how good you think you are as a leader, my goodness, the people around you will have all kinds of ideas for how you can get better. So for me, the most fundamental thing about leadership is to have the humility to continue to get feedback and to try to get better - because your job is to try to help everybody else get better. Jim Yong Kim Regular feedback is one of the hardest things to drive through an organization. Kenneth Chenault

www.thepersonnellab.com or http://tinyurl.com/q45glgs

I can't be a hypocrite as a coach because as a player that's what I wanted. I wanted feedback, I wanted communication from the boss. I showed up for work, you can yell at me if you want, but I want input. So that's the kind of coach I want to be. Adam Oates True intuitive expertise is learned from prolonged experience with good feedback on mistakes. Daniel Kahneman

#33 December 1, 2014

Help People

Acquire Improve Master

Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©

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Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©

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