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The Power of Positive Feedback

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Motivating employees to perform at higher levels is often a difficult task, but experts are saying managers should not resort to harsh criticism. Instead, they should replace it with constructive feedback—to which employees respond much more positively. For years, the employee review focused largely on employee missteps and identifying areas in which an individual employee’s performance could improve. However, this did little to change behavior or increase productivity. And while veteran managers may hold on to their “tough love” techniques, their harsher tactics usually do more harm than good. This doesn't mean managers should provide only positive feedback. Often it can be helpful to show employees where they stand from a performance perspective. Showing employees how they compare to others is, from an emotional perspective, the “loudest” type of feedback, according to Sheila Heen, co-author of Thanks for the Feedback. "Most employees feel under-appreciated," she said. Criticism tends to overwhelm them, but coaching them through a performance deficiency by pointing out demonstrable areas of improvement can be effective, especially among younger members of a team.

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