Recently, a friend and former colleague, Emma, told me a story about a sales leader in her organization. “I want to know if you’re happy with my team’s performance,” he’d asked. Emma was not pleased with his performance, and bluntly told him so. The response seemed to catch him off-guard; he crumpled upon hearing this and quickly excused himself. Emma was frustrated. “I was being honest; where did I go wrong?”
There are many layers of complexity to this problem. Emma was unused to delivering feedback, and so delivered it in an abrupt way without any explanation for her thoughts. Emma had never given any type of feedback to this sales leader—neither positive nor constructive—and when he received difficult constructive criticism, it caused him to shut down rather than to seek to understand and learn.
It is not in our nature to seek criticism; but the best performers do, in order to continuously improve. If all we ever hear is, “Great job! Your performance is perfect,” we will never alter our behavior and will likely stunt our ability to progress. Hearing all types of feedback is important to an individual’s success and, in turn, that of an entire organization. The trick is to create an environment where feedback is so ingrained in the culture and daily routine that it is freely given, expected, and delivered in the right way. Here are four steps to ensure the process works.
1. Provide feedback early and often
Discuss feedback with new employees when they first join the company. Explain that opportunities for feedback are built into their week, that feedback is designed to help them continuously improve, and that their managers will seek feedback from them as well. Feedback should never come as a surprise, and neither employees nor managers should feel blindsided by the occasional bit of criticism.2. Ensure that every employee knows how to deliver feedback appropriately
Great sales managers must be great coaches. This means they need to understand how to coach, including how to deliver both positive feedback and difficult, constructive feedback. Effective feedback is targeted, specific, and timely. Organizations must take the time to develop the skills required for all employees to give feedback, setting organizational objectives for a regular cadence of feedback.3. Coach employees on how to accept feedback
Some personalities accept difficult feedback easily, while others need time to process it. Talking about normal reactions to constructive feedback or criticism and giving employees permission to process feedback before responding can be a healthy way to enable more sensitive personalities to accept feedback more readily.4. Empower employees to provide feedback in all directions
Coachable employees must expect feedback and feel empowered to provide their own to their managers and teammates. Giving employees permission, and the right forum, to deliver feedback can help to break down the stigma that can come with feedback.Managers can greatly benefit from employee feedback, but must work to create an environment where their employees feel comfortable providing it. Many employees may be fearful of providing honest feedback. To help alleviate this fear, managers can ask for feedback, prompting the employee with specific questions until they feel more comfortable volunteering feedback. Managers must also understand how they should respond to the feedback they receive, resisting the impulse to explain or defend themselves and instead seeking to learn and understand.
Peer feedback can also be a very powerful tool. Encouraging employees to spend time working with, observing, and providing feedback to their peers can encourage the sharing of ideas and be a mutually beneficial activity.
Cultivating an environment where feedback is anticipated at every level can be a major cultural shift. Taking the time to develop a culture of feedback can open the doors for enhanced communication, trust, and engagement among your sales team—in turn promoting their performance.
To learn more, join me at ATD 2018 International Conference & EXPO for the session Radical Candor: Creating a Culture of Feedback in Your Sales Organization.
