By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, DNAP candidate
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“She did what?” I said to the distraught person on the phone as he reported unacceptable behavior that just spewed from a self-assured subordinate whom I supervise. I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts knowing that the conduct of the arrogant offender required immediate attention and possibly disciplinary action. We were working in a major medical center with a significant population of international patients. My irate employee had just been in the face of a non-English speaking patient, shouted ethnic insults, and told the person to learn English or seek care elsewhere…totally unacceptable behavior.
In contrast, the infraction of another employee took the form of passive omission. Employee two was frequently 5-10 minutes late for work in the morning, took 30 minutes to get in sync and consistently extended lunch a few minutes beyond the allotted 30-minute break. Both situations, one an egregious act of commission and the other a passive act of omission, required honest feedback.
Leadership is multi-dimensional and can be simultaneously rewarding and stressful. When goals are met, and hard-working people exceed expectations, the leader is positioned to hand out recognition and reward to the high achievers. The unfortunate reality is that not all behavior meets standards and not all goals re met. Rather than being stressed, view lapses in employee behavior as an opportunity for you to grow as a leader and for the employee to learn valuable lessons about accountability.
Lisa Bodell, founder and CEO of FutureThink, writes in Forbes.com that more than 90% of employees would prefer their manager to address mistakes immediately rather than letting weak performance slide until presented in the annual performance review. This conclusion is affirmed and expanded upon by Social psychologist, Heidi Grant, who further contends the value of immediate feedback and notes that workers who are on the learning curve want praise and positive feedback, whereas experienced employees who want to improve skills desire a more critical review of their performance.
The trend for ongoing feedback has prompted companies such as The Gap and Adobe to do away with annual performance reviews altogether and to replace them with mandates for leaders at all levels to provide real-time, ongoing feedback to employees. The performance yard blogger, John Courtney, touts the benefits of providing negative feedback and recommends using a positive approach that is intended to change the behavior of the individual while preserving the integrity of the individual and the organization.
Negative feedback that is purposeful and thoughtful, ensures undesirable behavior is addressed and that offenders know the expected change in behavior. By following the techniques used by business leaders when you deliver negative feedback to those you supervise, the task of holding team members accountable does not need to be a daunting or stressful experience.
Avoid emotional responses. Both crisis-causing blow-ups and chronic poor performance can trigger an emotional response from the leader. Whether the behavior of a team member is outrageous or simply disappointing, take a deep breath and collect your thoughts before responding. Like Coach John Wooden role-modeled in his leadership, (ProSynEx blog, Feb 3, 2019) engage your thinking brain and imagine scenarios that caused the event along with several approaches that will bring resolution. Avoid a knee-jerk emotional response that will only pour kerosene on the fire to ensure the best outcome.
Gather the facts. The truth is seldom what appears on the surface. Attempting to address an issue before the facts are known, may force you to walk your decision back later. Expect only part of the truth from the person involved and verify what you are told as you get the rest of the story from other perspectives. A second benefit of fact-finding is that it creates time for your emotions to settle and enables you to find a better solution than your initial knee-jerk response.
Focus on the job. Don’t take or make the situation personal. Focus on your goals for the team and avoid making an attack on the individual. Placing an individual on the defensive will obstruct the work that you are trying to accomplish and render him unreceptive to feedback. Unless the event warrants an employee’s immediate dismissal, approach each situation with the intent of addressing and changing unacceptable behavior.
Be specific. An overt act of aggression is obvious, however chronic poor performance can be insidious and more difficult to describe. State your observation honestly and succinctly by giving examples so the individual clearly understands the issue.
Use questions. The best results are obtained when the person has an ah-ha moment so she can identify ways to correct the problem herself. Ask the person to explain how her behavior affects the team morale, outcome of the project, or how it affects the goals established by the team or the organization. State your desired outcome and challenge the person to identify alternative behavior that would better support the goal. An open dialogue with guided questions will lead to insight about action that will be more productive and achieve better results.
Develop a prevention plan. Feedback without a plan is just a discussion. Build on your intervention by creating a written plan to outline the expected new behavior as well as a timeline for implementing the change. A serious infraction may require an apology or formal discipline followed by ongoing monitoring, while other issues, like weak performance, may require mentoring and a renewed commitment to improve performance.
Follow-up. Establish a timeline and check in frequently with updated honest feedback. Give positive feedback when it is earned and reinforce boundaries if performance starts to slip.
The opportunity to provide negative feedback is a gift for all: Leader, employee and organization. Discussing deficient behavior and is intended to convert a negative into a positive and is most effective when viewed as an opportunity for both the leader and the worker. On the highest performing teams, people not only know what is expected of them, but also receive feedback frequently in an ongoing manner. Assume that most employees have a desire to meet your expectations and want to do the right thing; they desire your reaction to their performance, both positive and negative. Providing timely and constructive feedback enhances your stature as a leader, opens lines of communication and builds the morale of the team.
Tom is a clinical anesthetist, noted author and requested speaker.