Is Feedback a Forgotten Luxury?

The ‘What’ of 360 Degree Feedback

Feedback is an information or assessment of a person’s performance of a task. This is a rather literal

meaning of the word and has to be extended when 360 Degree Feedback is put under the microscope. The nomenclature “360 Degree Feedback” actually encompasses a system wherein employees receive confidential and anonymous feedbacks from people in his/her close vicinity, through people who are in a position to comment upon his/her direct work. A number of people, approximately eight to twelve people, fill out anonymous forms covering a wide range of topics that are directly linked to the performance of the employee in question. The form is usually a combination of objective questions and comments that give a holistic feedback on the employee’s area of work. This is where the expertise of Door Training andConsulting enters the fray. So you better rethink your ‘I don’t want to build office relationships’ strategy.

The ‘Why’ of 360 Degree Feedback

At a rather obvious level, such a constructive feedback ensures that the managers and leaders get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. These become even more valuable and concrete, coming from the prism of people working around them, leaving immense scope for improvement. Door Training and Consulting’s 360 degree feedback regime has carved a unique niche for itself in organizations as an effective development and performance appraisal tool.

The ‘How’ of 360 Degree Feedback

360 degree feedback measures a number of things to give an all round assessment to the employees in managerial and non-managerial roles. Notable among that include an accurate assessment (as far as possible) of behavior and competencies, perception of employee, how the employee treats other peers, juniors and seniors, soft skills like listening, speaking and other things like planning and goal-setting. Important aspects like leadership potential and effectiveness, team work and coordination are also judged.

The popularity of this feedback program rests on certain advantages that it entails. The advantages of a 360 degree feedback program include:

·         Improved feedback from a number of sources: A non-concentrated and centralized form of feedback makes it more credible and diverse in nature. It evades the possibility of individual biases and prejudices that sometimes employees accuse the upper management of. It reduces the discriminatory factor considerably.

·         Improved consumer service: An improved feedback in turn assures a better consumer service and considerably impacts the revenues of the firm at large.

·         Team Work: A system like this facilitates team work spirit and employees work together with improved coordination and cohesion after identifying developmental tools.

However, much like any system, this 360 degree feedback is also not devoid of flaws. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it leaves scope for improvement paving the possibility of an even better system for future. Let us have a quick glance at the limitations and challenges of the current 360 degree feedback system in place today.

·         The Burden of Expectations: 360 degree feedback sometimes faces the threat of crumbling and going astray by a number of expectations. It is still different from a performance management system and the two should not be confused together.

·         Insufficient Information: The source of a 360 degree feedback is anonymous, so it leaves little scope for the concerned person to understand the feedback in a detailed manner. Also, the system does not exactly focus on the technicalities of their jobs, leaving a rather important premise out of consideration.

·         Not everyone is immune to change: This new regime might rattle the office environment altogether, as some people don’t like dynamic changes, and hence might resort to the orthodox ways instantly.

The concept of 360 Degree Feedback is here to stay. Sooner rather than later, every single organization is bound to recognize this as a valuable asset, in the long run. Acting fast can give you that much needed business edge over your competitors.

You are here: Home How Do You Handle a Naysayer? Eight Tips for Managing Those Who Are Negative How Do You Handle a Naysayer? Eight Tips for Managing Those Who Are Negative

Recently, I was writing at the local university, and I ran into a friend that works for the construction department on campus. He asked me for a few ideas for handling a “naysayer” at work. It seems that he was building some new rooms in the library, so they had to tear out the old rooms first. After framing the new rooms, they had the air conditioning people come and install all of the duct work in the ceiling. Then they hired an independent contractor to insulate the ceiling. The insulation guys brought in a table on wheels with all their equipment on it that they could roll around the room to do their work. When they were finished, they never retrieved their table nor their tools. My friend spoke with the superintendent responsible and asked if he could call the independent contractor to come and get their table and tools.

The superintendent responded, “No, I am not calling those guys to tell them that they need to get their #@+=! crap.” My friend responded, “Did I say that you had to say that? I’m just asking if you could call them and say, ‘Hey, we are getting ready to texture and paint the walls, and we wondered if you could have your guys come and get their equipment.’”

Have you ever worked with or met someone whose regular answer to anything they are asked to do is usually “No!” Or perhaps every time you offer an idea, they say, “Yeah, but….” These individuals often make comments such as: “That will never work!” “You don’t know what you are talking about!” or “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard this week.” These people have a negative response for everything. They shut down collaboration, stifle creativity and innovation, and drain everyone’s energy.

Here are some ideas for helping the naysayer to work and play well with others.

Take them seriously, but not personally. When such people begin a negative rampage, you want to understand what the source of all their bluster is, but you don’t want to take their negativity personally. After all, their words, feelings, and actions reflect what is going on inside of them—it is all about them, not you. Remain calm in order to manage the conversation in an effective way rather than getting drawn into their negativity.

Understand the sources of their objections. Acknowledge their disagreement or any negative statements about the situation so they will know that you have heard them, and then ask them questions to understand their perspective. For example, you might say something like, “So, if I have heard you correctly, you think that ….Would you help me understand what supports that position?” Listen for them to share the data or evidence that would support their view. Continue to ask questions that surface their reasoning, logic, and supporting information behind their objections. If they can’t answer your questions with some form of a reasoned response, you know that there is probably a more personal issue at stake in this situation.

Offer alternatives. After listening to them, ask them if there is another way to interpret the same set of facts that they are using as support for their argument. If they can’t think of a response, rehearse the evidence they offered and offer a different interpretation of those same facts. This will offer them a different point of view that they may not have considered. Follow up by asking them about your offered viewpoint.

Engage them with questions. You can get past their negativity by asking questions. Asking questions creates engagement and moves the conversation forward rather than creating a battle over differing views. If you take the time to understand the other person first, then when you ask for their consideration of your ideas, you are more likely to have their attention.

Retrain your brain. When you hear someone use, “Yeah, but…,” you must change any negative interpretation of that phrase to mean that the person has an additional thought or different idea. This will help you to derail your own potential defensive response to their negativity. Be curious and inquisitive about the information that resides behind their “Yeah, but…,” response.

Be respectful of different ideas. If there is something positive or important for consideration in their viewpoint, tell them so and express appreciation for their perspective. Sometimes we are quick to exclude ideas that are delivered with disrespect. Move past the mode of delivery and express appreciation for a thought that adds insight to the conversation.

Include them if they will be included. Naysayers push people away with their negativity in part because of the perception that they are difficult to deal with and hard to be around. The behavior of others reinforces the naysayers’ perspective that people don’t care for them or don’t want to hear what they have to say. In this way the behavior of the naysayer serves to create the exclusionary behavior of others. Surprisingly, people will sabotage themselves to reinforce the negative beliefs they have of others. Don’t get pulled into this drama. Look past their negativity and avoid being exclusionary because of their poor choice of behavior.

Offer them a bigger picture. Sometimes offering the naysayer the bigger picture of a challenge or an issue will help to shift their perspective. When things don’t go as we planned, we often become so mired in what we want that we lose sight of the broader view of what is important for everyone or what should take priority.

Interacting with someone who is negative can be a challenge on many fronts. What is important is that we see past their negativity in order to understand them and their ideas. This is often difficult because of the manner of their delivery and because of their seemingly disrespectful treatment of others. I can’t guarantee that you will always be successful in winning over a naysayer to your way of thinking, but in trying some of these concepts you are keeping them from making a naysayer out of you.

TTI Success Insights Collection – Interviewing Insights – General & Sales Versions

TARGETING TALENT

 Finding the right talent for specific jobs is not just desirable, but ESSENTIAL to business success. Tools that add value to the hiring process are increasingly popular with human resource professionals, line managers and business owners. Much valuable employee time can be wasted in needlessly interviewing prospective employees whose talents are not suited to job openings.

CURBING TURNOVER COSTS

The costs of employee turnover can no longer be ignored and are widely advertised as being from 3 to 9 times annual salary — depending on the job level and experience of departing employees. Replacing talent quickly and accurately will effectively stop the drain on a company’s resources that is related to employee turnover.

TOOLS FOR EVERY BUSINESS

Interviewing Insights General and Sales reports are designed to assist companies to quickly and successfully prepare for the interview process. These helpful reports will target talent early in the hiring process and pave the way for second-level interviews and/or more in-depth assessments of specific capabilities (see TTI’s job-specific assessments in Sales, Customer Service, Executive, etc.).

USE INTERVIEWING INSIGHTS FOR GENERAL JOBS

Use this assessment to prepare for a wide variety of initial interviews for jobs, including (but not limited to) the following :

- Administration

- Clerical

- Reception

- Staff Assistants

- Operations

- Warehouse Workers

- Technical Support, etc.

Report Contents: Interviewing Insights

– General Version

• General Characteristics (Behavioral Description)

• Ideal Environment (Focus on Work Environment)

• Value to the Organization (Major Strengths)

• Interview Questions (Suggested Only)

• Success Insights™Graphs (Adapted and Natural Behaviors)

• The Success Insights® Wheel (Behavior as Compared to a Variety of Other Behaviors)

USE INTERVIEWING INSIGHTS FOR SALES JOBS

Use this assessment to prepare for initial sales position interviews and follow-up with successful candidates using the full TTI Success Insights Sales Version report. Report Contents:Interviewing Insights – Sales Version

• Sales Characteristics (Behavioral Description of Sales Style)

• Ideal Environment (Focus on Work Environment)

• Value to the Organization (Major Strengths)

• Interview Questions (Suggested Only)

• Success Insights Graphs (Adapted and Natural Behaviors)

• The Success Insights® Wheel (Behavior as Compared to a Variety of Other Behaviors)

RESULTS/BENEFITS

 An investment in the Interviewing Insights reports can yield important results and valuable benefits in several areas:

• Save time and effort in preparing for interviews.

• Target the right type of talent at the beginning of the hiring process.

• Identify suitable candidates accurately through behavioral profiling.

• Achieve successful hiring faster, saving both time and money. Begin using TTI Success Insights reports today and increase the success of your interviewing and hiring process! -

See more at: DOOR Training and Consulting India (P) Ltd.