Feedback - Confirming the Good News

The feedback I'm talking about here isn't some sort of formalised appraisal that takes place with your team members every month, or every six months or once a year. This feedback happens continually and it happens when you see or hear something you want to give feedback on. The trick is - keep it simple.

If you see or hear something you do like - you tell the team member about it. If you see or hear something you don't like or feel could be done better - you tell the team member about it and you coach them.

Confirming Feedback is about giving the good news. It's about confirming to your team member that you approve of whatever it is you've seen them do or heard them say. It's a compliment or a thank you.

It also seems to be something that some managers have great difficulty with. They take the attitude that - "why tell people that you're pleased with them when they're only doing what they're paid to do in the first place."

A great deal of this attitude stems from managers believing they having to be big and tough and macho. And managers don't do all that touchy-feely stuff, saying thank you is for wimps.

If you still feel a bit like that, think for a moment how you felt if a manager ever gave you a genuine compliment or a thank you for a job well done. I bet you felt pretty good and probably motivated to do even better. I'm also sure you didn't think your boss was a big softy or that he lacked courage; probably the opposite.

Successful managers realise that almost everyone reacts positively to Confirming Feedback. They feel better about themselves and they feel motivated to repeat the behaviour. There is a saying that says - "You get more of what you reward."

Michael LeBoeuf tells this fable in his book 'The Greatest Management Principle in the World.' -

A man went fishing one day. He looked over the side of his boat and saw a snake with a frog in its mouth. Feeling sorry for the frog, he reached down, gently took the frog from the snake and set the frog free. But then he felt sorry for the snake. He looked around the boat, but he had no food. All he had was a bottle of whisky; so he opened the bottle and gave the snake a few shots. The snake want off happy, the frog was happy and the man was happy to have performed such a good deed. He thought everything was fine until about ten minutes passed and he heard something knock against the side of the boat. With stunned disbelief, the fisherman looked down and saw the snake was back with two frogs!

So if you tell one of your team that you like the way they have completed some aspect of their work, then you'll find that they continue to do that work in the same way or probably even better.

However, your feedback must be genuine.

Sometimes on a seminar, I ask the group - "Who likes receiving compliments?" Often only a minority will put up their hand. I then ask them - "Who likes receiving a genuine compliment?" This time almost everyone puts up their hand. People often feel that a compliment isn't really meant and they sometimes feel a bit patronised. That's why it's important that your Confirming Feedback is genuine and it

sounds genuine. Don't say it if you don't mean it!

Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart once said - "Nothing else can substitute for a few well chosen, well timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune."

Confirming Feedback is worth a fortune to you in terms of motivating your team and achieving your goals and targets.

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating your team! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical things you can do to get the best out of your people . Click here now http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

http://www.alanfairweather.com

---

What College Taught Me About Teamwork Training

I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More

Leadership Quality Through Kindness

In days past, loyalty was a given. The worker in... Read More

Building a Successful Team

Once you've set a goal for yourself as a leader... Read More

The Magic and Mystery of Teams

As the world of manufacturing has become increasingly competitive, managers... Read More

Workplace Fitness: Tongue-In-Cheek

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, to speak... Read More

Building The Winning Team

Winning teams aren't created by accident. Rather, the team or... Read More

Team Building Seminars: Why New Teams Struggle

With over 25 years of research and experience, we have... Read More

Business Innovation ? Effective Team Structures

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Getting Team Discussions Moving in The Right Direction

Group discussions are where much of the creative work of... Read More

High Performing Teams: 10 Things You Want To Know About Building A High Performing Team

"Conflict becomes politics, commitment becomes 'Only if it's in my... Read More

Effective Team Building For Organizational Success

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common... Read More

How Does Personal Development Help in Business?

Teams run most businesses and teams work best if each... Read More

Teams

For companies to be competitive, decisions have to be made... Read More

Leading To A Preferred Future

Last month's edition of Footprints and Monuments illustrated a parallel... Read More

Top Ten Things About Team Building

People who lead the best teams realise early on that... Read More

12 Tips and Reminders for Team Members To Enjoy Their Team Experiences More

12 Tips and Reminders for Team Members To Enjoy Their... Read More

Functioning in a Dysfunctional Workplace

Sometimes the greatest challenges lay not within the actions of... Read More

Collaboration Software - Building an Office Without Walls

The rise of the internet has given businesses a new... Read More

Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

The company picnic is a beloved tradition at many firms.It's... Read More

Checklist for High Performing Teams

Why do some teams perform well while others struggle? How... Read More

Team Journaling

The very effective tool of keeping a journal can be... Read More

Team Development and Learning

A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More

Creating Unity In Your Company

The other day I got a call from a friend... Read More

Winning Teams on the Football Field and in the Office

Teams, teams, teams. They're all the rage these days. Whether... Read More

Feedback - Confirming the Good News

The feedback I'm talking about here isn't some sort of... Read More

If You Can?t See It, They Won?t Do It

Recently, while developing a customer service program, I asked my... Read More

Team Member Feedback: A Priceless Communication Tool

Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More

Staying Informed Key For Your Team

We exist in such a rapidly-changing environment. Technology is moving... Read More

What?s Wrong With You, Why Don?t You Understand Me?

Recently while waiting for our lunch to be served in... Read More

How to Boost Morale In Your Organisation

Who keeps the wheels turning in your organisation? Who holds... Read More

Downsizing Your Team

Team Building Question:Our office has recently learned that about 20... Read More

Discovering the Truth on MLM

Truth on mlmDid you know that the truth on mlm... Read More

Hand Out Warm Glows

Do you remember how you felt after your last interaction... Read More