A few feedback models

In life we give feedback all the time, we just don’t realise it.  You might tell people about the good, or bad restaurant you’ve been to.  You tell people about a great hotel you’ve recently stayed at.  Sometimes we give direct feedback e.g. on TripAdvisor, or on social media.  It doesn’t stop even when we’re at home!  You might feedback on how nice a meal was, or that your partner looks nice in that dress.  We’re always giving feedback.

So, that begs the question, why do we find giving feedback so difficult in work, especially when that feedback is negative?  A lot of people find giving negative feedback awkward.  You don’t want to make the other person feel upset or uneasy which is why we sugar coat it.  Even at home we do that.  Even if the meal wasn’t nice, you might say it was and if you’re really brave you might feedback on the dress not looking that nice on your partner.  Good luck with that one!

It goes without saying that feedback if vital at work, especially if people are to learn.  Some of the benefits are:

• It encourages improvement
• It can boost motivation & engagement
• It enhances learning & development
• It can strengthen relationships & trust
• It can increase efficiency & productivity
• It can promote accountability

Here’s a couple of models that might help you to structure your feedback.  The models might help you to stop waffling, especially if you’re nervous about the reaction.

BEEF Model

Behaviour: Explain clearly what the person did (positively or negatively)
Example: Give a specific instance of when this has happened
Effect: Describe the effect it had on you or someone else or on the outcome
Future: Advise what you want to happen from now on

AID Model

Action: What did you see the person do? (positively or negatively)

Impact: Explain the impact of that action.

Do: What you would like that person to do now

PEAR Model

Praise: Congratulate the individual on what they have done well

Examples: Give specific examples of where you’ve seen this happen

Ask: When and how can they make sure this happens again?

Reinforce: Provide encouragement and demonstrate how you will personally offer your support to help ensure this happens again going forward

These models can help you to structure your feedback.  Give it a go and see what you think.

Plotting and Planning for 2025

Christmas seems like just a blur.  The odd box of biscuits and a stray After Eight mint at the back of the cupboard acts as a reminder of the number of calories Mark ate in a 2-week window.  But it’s all over and now and he can focus on 2025, albeit it he’s a stone heavier! 

Mark gets a real sense of focus around this time of year.  A new year, a new start and all that jazz acts as a boost for him.  Mark sits there with his new pen and pad, drinking coffee from his new ‘Best Boss in the World’ mug.  An hour later and his page is still blank.  He searches Google for ideas.  He even strays to ChatGPT for some help, but still his page is empty.  If he doesn’t crack on soon, it’ll be time to dig out his Christmas jumper again and 2026 will soon be on the horizon.

What Mark fails to realise is that the ideas he’s after aren’t in Google, or ChatGPT, it’s actually in his own team.  Here’s some questions Mark could ask his team over the next few weeks to help smash 2025:

Celebrating Team Success

• What challenges have we overcome in 2024 as a team that’s worth celebrating?
• What’s the most significant thing we’ve done that has positively impacted the team/business
• What words or phrases would you use to describe the team’s culture and values?
• What positive feedback have you received from clients, stakeholders, or other colleagues about the team’s work?

Question for feedback and solving issues

• How can we improve our decision-making process as a team?
• If you’d recommend one thing for better team performance in 2025, what would it be?
• What is one thing we could experiment with doing differently in 2025? 
• How can we better align our team goals with the company’s mission and vision?
• On a scale of 1-10, rate the communication and collaboration within our team.
• How can we improve our team culture?

Hybrid/Remote working

• What helps you feel connected to other team members and escape the potential loneliness of working remotely?
• How could we improve our remote team management? 
• How is your work-life balance right now? What would you like to change about it?
• What do you think about the company’s remote/hybrid work policy? How could we improve?

You see, no need for Google, everything Mark needs is right under his nose.

Need a hand developing the managers in your team?

Contact Mike on 07825301660 or email him direct on mike@potentialuenarthed.co.uk

Presentations – Focus on what you can control

The Generation Game

Do you have a mix of ages across your team?  Whatever title you want to give the diverse generations of people you work with is irrelevant. The reality is that each generation is different and potentially they need managing slightly differently. Each generations outlook on life and work differs for lots of reasons:

• Changes in the way people bring up their children 
• Changes in teaching methods at school
• Society has changed
• Advances in technology
• The dreaded social media!

I’ve heard so many managers who are around 40 years old and upwards talk about managing people who are 19 – 25. I can’t say what they call them but it’s not always complimentary! They talk about how the ‘youth’ has changed.

• They are more demanding
• They think the world owes them a living
• They want everything now
• They are always asking why!

My generation was one of ‘do as you’re told’ and ‘speak when you’re spoken to’.  I took this mentality into the world of work.  A lot of my generation are now managers and struggle with people not mirroring their own mentality.

I sense their frustration when they are talking about them.  However, they are fighting a losing battle.  Gen Z (1997-2012) aren’t going anywhere, so maybe it’s time for managers to adapt to the different generations of people they work with. Embrace their outlook on life, the way they challenge, their desire to not settle for a ‘job for life’ and to explore and try new things.

Personally, I do think all of the generations cross over and it’s far to simplistic to categorise people, but I do think it’s something you can’t ignore and certainly as a manager you can’t lose sight of.

One more thing – the next batch are on their way – Gen Alpha (born 2013 – 2022). It won’t be long before they are venturing into the world of work, and it’ll be time to adapt once again 😱 

Do your homework or you’re in trouble!

Imagine driving down a road and you see a speed camera.  Naturally you’ll slow down.  The only reason you’re slowing down is because you risk getting a ticket and points on your licence.  This is controlled motivation.

Why do you comply to the processes and procedures at work?  For many, it boils down to controlled motivation.  The only reason you’re doing it is because if you don’t, you may feel the wrath of HR!

Controlled motivation isn’t just about punishment.  Reward is also controlled.  Your manager might ask you to do a task at work and in return you can finish early.  You aren’t doing the task because of the love of it, you’re doing it for the reward.

You see controlled motivation with teenagers.  “Do your homework or I’ll take your phone off you” or “Do your homework and we’ll go to McDonalds” Either way, they are only completing the homework due to the carrot or the stick. 

But what if we could move away from controlled motivation.  What if people at home and at work could do things because they genuinely wanted to?  What if they were autonomously motivated.

What would make you autonomously stick to the speed limit? There could be lots of reasons.  You or someone you know might have been in an accident.  You might have children in the car.  Of course, you might be a law-abiding citizen!

What about at work?  You might choose to treat people properly, complete your tasks, follow all the process and processes because you love your job and the people you work with.  You do it because ethically it’s the right thing to do.

Think about your own team and the people you work with.  How are they motivated?  How can you get them more autonomously motivated?  Here’s a few tips:

• Meet their values & motivational drivers
• Involve your team in problem solving and decision making. Get them involved
• Attempt to understand, recognise, and acknowledge their perspectives
• Engaging in active listening and show interest
• Avoid pressurising individuals to think, feel or behave in a certain way
• Create Phycological Safety
• Communicate reasons for change & help them to understand
• Show high levels of trust and support
• Being careful not to use controlling language such as “have to,” “must,” and “should”

Whilst there will always be an element of controlled, by shifting your team to autonomous motivation, you’ll be helping to create trust, rapport and engagement across your team

Need a hand tapping into the motivational drivers of your team?  Contact us for a chat to see how we can help

Have you ever dodged a board duster?

There you were, minding your own business, sat in Maths, daydreaming about your tea, and hoping your mum had Findus Crispy Pancakes waiting for you when you got in and then whoosh, the sound of a board duster flying past your head broke you from your dreams. 

Plenty of you reading this article will be of a certain age where you still have a vague memory of dodging a board duster, not to mention standing in front of class and being slapped across your hand with a ruler!  The good old days. Character building, I believe they called it!

Society has changed a lot over the years and for the better.  No more flinging board dusters!  Parenting has changed from years ago. I remember getting ‘the slipper’ and told to only speak when I was spoken to.  These days, in many households it’s much nicer!

Businesses haven’t missed out on this shift. Management styles have changed from autocratic and dictatorial, to more inclusive and collaborative.  Here’s a quick overview of a few styles that are now common across all businesses.

Collaborative

A collaborative style means helping your team work better together. It’s about creating an inclusive culture and giving your team the tools and support they need to work together and communicate effectively.  Everyone sees themselves playing an important part in the success of the team.  They don’t feel like they are just a number.

Participative

This management style requires everyone to be involved in problem solving and decision making.  Essentially, everyone works together and participates.  Everyone’s opinion counts no matter what level they are at.  To do this there has to be high levels of trust across the team.

Compassionate

At the heart of this style of management is relationships.  This requires high levels of empathy, active listening, patience and understanding so that individuals and the team feel valued, respected and psychologically safe.  As a result, people bring their best selves to work.

What I’m not saying is to live your life in one management style.  That can be dangerous.  The key is to flex your style depending on the individual and scenario.  For example, always being participative can rub some people up the wrong way.  They just want you to make a decision.  Don’t, and they might end up throwing a board duster at you!

Do you need a hand developing the managers in your business?  Why not get in touch for chat to see how we can help 

Team Culture – There’s nothing worse than forced fun

Every business wants their teams to be happy and productive.  Owners, Directors, Shareholders – they’re not stupid.  They know full well, if their employees are happy, there will naturally be a knock-on effect on productivity and the bottom line.  Similarly, employees who feel disengaged, unhappy and devalued, will most probably not perform as well.

So, how do you make them happy?  We’ve seen it all down the years from pool tables and pizza Fridays through to table tennis and a fridge full of beer.  All this is fine of course.  There’s nothing wrong with creating a fun working environment.  However, you’re in dreamland if you think this alone will create a happy culture.  We sometimes hear leaders saying, “We’ve given them all of these things and still they aren’t happy.”  It simply doesn’t work like that.  ‘Forced fun’ doesn’t create a happy culture. Employees aren’t daft.  They know what’s going on and in many ways, it’s counterproductive when it comes to creating a positive, healthy and fun culture.

In our opinion, creating a positive, fun culture doesn’t require any spend at all, it’s completely free of charge. 

Here’s what you need:

• Treat people with manners and respect – It should go without saying, but all too often this doesn’t happen. Some leaders speak to people in such a derogatory and disrespectful way that it’s humiliating for the person on the receiving end.  The bewildering thing is that leaders then expect that person to be happy at work – it’s mindboggling! 

• Give them some recognition – If people do a good job or they complete task for you, thank them, give them some positive feedback, give them some recognition. It doesn’t have to be anything major, just a simple thank you will do, whether it be face to face, via email or a WhatsApp message.

• Create psychological safety – Build an environment where everyone feels safe to challenge, to speak up and air their opinions. An environment where people can speak up if they are struggling, without the fear of being belittled or made to feel stupid.

• What do you think? Ask for their opinion.  Stop with the hierarchical structure where the manager makes all the decisions and feeds the changes down the line.  Wherever possible, ask your team for their thoughts, opinions and ideas.  There’s a good chance they’ve got better ideas than you.

You see, it’s not hard to create a positive, healthy and fun culture and it costs nothing.  Mind you, we still think a pizza will always be warmly received by any team!

Do you need a hand improving the culture of your team? Why not give us a call 

How psychologically safe does your team feel?

Carla has worked in the department for 2 years.  Carla is happy in the team and gets along with everyone, well, nearly everyone.  Her relationship with her own line manager; Martin, can sometimes be a difficult one. 

Martin is excellent at his job and admired by everyone in the company.  He has a good team, with a good team spirit, most of the time.

Whilst Carla feels a sense of belonging, her relationship with Martin means she doesn’t feel 100% psychologically safe.

From time to time, she feels she struggles in certain areas of her role and needs training or coaching.  She can’t ask Martin.  She’s tried in the past and he’s either ignored her request or simply made her feel inferior when she explained what she needs.

Meetings are another issue.  Martin is a strong character and always takes the lead in meetings.  He asks for opinions but very rarely listens.  Carla has spoken up a few times but has been shot down and made to feel stupid.

Carla is one of the more senior members of the team and has ideas and opinions on how the team could be improved.  She has spoken to Martin about this but again, her opinions were brushed to one side.  As a result, she no longer challenges Martin on how the team operates.

Basically, Carla doesn’t feel psychologically safe in her team.  Martin thinks she does, but she doesn’t.  Carla isn’t ticking any of the 4 levels of psychological safety below:

Stage 1: Inclusion Safety

Inclusion safety satisfies the basic human need to connect and belong. She feels part of the team with her fellow colleagues, but not 100% with Martin.  

Stage 2: Learner Safety

Learner safety satisfies the basic human need to learn and grow.  Carla is struggling in some aspects of her role but feels she can’t ask for help from Martin.

Stage 3: Contributor safety

Contributor safety satisfies the basic human need to contribute and make a difference.  Carla has tried to speak up in meetings but has been shot down by Martin in the past so now keeps quiet.

Stage 4: Challenger Safety

Challenger safety satisfies the basic human need to make things better. It’s the support and confidence we need to ask questions such as, “Why do we do it this way?” “What if we tried this?” or “May I suggest a better way?”.  She’s tried this one too, but to no avail!

The consequences of this are that Carla feel shackled and isn’t feeling totally safe at work.

How safe does your team feel?  Are they ticking all 4 stages?  Why not ask them in your next meeting.  You never know, you might be like Martin and not even know it!

Directive v Non-directive – Where do you sit?

Where do you spend most of your time when chatting to people in your team?

Directive is quicker, but if you keep telling people what to do they will forever keep on coming back to you for the answer 🤔

Before diving in with advice, why not ask a few open questions that might get them thinking. More importantly, you’ll be helping them to come up with the answer themselves, and lets be honest they probably know the answer anyway 😉

Here’s a few questions you might ask:

💡What do you think you should do next?
💡What might the consequences be?
💡How might they react? How might you react?
💡On a scale of 1-10, how serious, or urgent is it?
💡What’s your priority?
💡What’s the main thing concerning you about this situation?
💡What help do you need from me?

These types of questions will help you to be a little more non-directive 👊