As my kids revel in the freedom that comes with summer vacation, reflecting on my daughter’s end-of-year report card got me thinking about how we offer feedback to our employees. As was the case in previous years, she once again earned grades well above the class average. Of course, that’s not to say that there’s no room for improvement as her social studies mark was just barely higher than the class average.

In most cases, this is where a parent is supposed to ask the child why they’re not doing as well in this subject as they are in others. In fact, I recall from my own childhood that such differences in my grades would spur on comments of how I wasn’t ‘applying myself enough’ in this particular class. Indeed, sometimes these lower marks can move the focus from how well our children are doing in other classes to worrying about why they are having difficulties in this one particular subject.

I think this is why we all dread feedback from our leaders or other superiors – since our childhood days, we’ve become accustomed to getting ‘reviews’ telling us about our weak spots and being told what we need to do to ‘apply ourselves to do better’. Compare this to the number of times we were cheered on for those areas we accomplished in, or being asked what exactly allows us to succeed in these fields that we could perhaps use to address those areas that we’re not so good in.

Granted, there has to be an understanding that even if we try Click here to continue reading »”3 Tactics To Improve How You Give Feedback To Your Employees”

As the number of people who use social media sites continues to grow, it’s only natural that there will be more discussion and debate over how these sites are used for communication and the dissemination of information. In fact, over the last few weeks, I’ve had several discussions with friends and colleagues about how the growing popularity of Twitter might impact the way the site is used or the kind of content that users share.

Of course, one point we need to recognize is that Twitter is nothing more that a communications outlet. There’s no magical powers like that which can transform a frog into a prince at work here. Instead, this is simply another tool that allows people to exchange information and ideas, either from simply broadcasting them to a general audience, or by fostering relationships and conversations in which to transfer such information.

When viewed from this vantage point, there are some practical guidelines leaders can draw from using Twitter on how to effectively communicate with the various departments and employees within their organization. Click here to continue reading »”What Twitter Can Teach Leaders About Effective Communication”

Photo courtesy of curtis.kennington

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to appear as a guest on the Real Recognition Radio show, which airs every Tuesday at 1PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the VoiceAmerica Business channel.  In this week’s episode, titled “A Better Workplace Conversation”, hosts Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown interviewed feedback expert Sonia Di Maulo and myself on the issues of leadership, workplace interactions and fostering motivation in employees (Sonia has written a follow-up piece about our interview on her blog.  I invite you to check it out and find out what key points stood out from this discussion).

For those who didn’t get a chance to hear the radio broadcast, or who’d like to hear the show again, you can listen to the interview using the audio player below.  Or if you prefer, you can download a MP3 copy of the show from the Real Recognition Radio show web page.

Some of the topics discussed during this show include:

• Why giving positive feedback is critical to creating a productive workplace.
• How listening can foster opportunities for growth.
• Why the best leaders are those who focus on serving those they lead.
• The importance of praise and recognition in the workplace and how we can start implementing it today.
• How we can engage our employees in these tough economic times.
• Why leaders should encourage a more emotional workplace.
• What are the most important opportunities facing organizations today.

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I want to take this opportunity to thank Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown for inviting me to appear on their show.  It was a pleasure to share my insights on leadership and motivating employees with your listeners.  And I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this conversation on leadership and motivating employees.

What ideas resonated with you and what would you add to the discussion on these issues?