Feedback from Employees

Good leaders pay attention to what’s going on around them. This includes listening to their employees. While you can take some time to speak with many of your people, you may not be able to get to each and every one of them. It’s a good idea to set up some way for employees to offer feedback to management – a way for information to flow up the ladder. This can be as simple as a suggestion box, or something more involving like a meeting of the minds where ideas are exchanged in person. Make sure that ideas that make a difference are recognized. Whether in a company newsletter, or during a company meeting, give credit where credit is due.

Why is this important? For one, you never know where the next great idea can come from. Your company is full of individuals with ideas. Just as customer service reps will have the most direct feedback from your customers, process improvement ideas can come from people directly involved in said processes. However, benefits of seeking out employee feedback go far beyond process improvement and understanding what your customers want. Every time you ask for feedback, you send a message to your employees. You show them that you’re interested and that you’re listening. It demonstrates your respect and appreciation of your employees, which in turn fosters better employer-employee relationships, creating more satisfied and loyal employees. By now, we all know that a happy employee is a more productive employee. This is just another way of connecting with your employees – one that benefits all involved.

Partnering With Your Employees

If managed properly, every employee can be a great asset to the company. However, they can also be a great expense, a tremendous responsibility, and a potential liability. It’s all in how you look at it, and how you manage others. Employees are hired to perform certain tasks. Too often, getting the most “bang for your buck” is seen as piling on more and more work onto each person, sometimes expecting them to do the job of several people. While that may seem like a cost efficient way to do things, nothing could be further from the truth. Sooner or later, this kind of approach will prove itself quite detrimental. Overworked employees become overwhelmed, unhappy, burned out employees. The quality of work suffers, as do dedication and safety.

It’s much more productive to partner with your employees by taking the time to coach and develop them, and by nurturing and utilizing their strengths. Take some time to get to know your employees. This doesn’t mean spending countless hours chatting with every member of your team – a few minutes on a somewhat regular basis will suffice. Start by browsing through previous posts (specifically ones focusing on the coaching and development of your employees, and on ways of utilizing their strengths and talents). The efforts that you put into managing your employees have a direct, positive correlation with the results that you’ll see. Get the most “bang for your buck” the smart way, not the hard way.

Suggested reading (previous blogs): October 2009; 11/3/09; 2/6/10; 4/11/10; 8/22/10; 10/24/10

Assumptions

The Pygmalion effect addresses the effects that a manager’s beliefs and attitudes have on their subordinates. This phenomenon can be explained through the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies (Livingston, 1988, p.4), which have been visible throughout various environments. Just as a teacher’s expectations affect the students’ performance, management expectations will have a notable bearing on employee performance. Simply put, we will get that which we expect. This applies regardless of how positive or negative the expectations are, as long as they are realistically achievable.

A business-setting coach can utilize this knowledge to set the coachee up for success. In order to establish the kind of atmosphere that promotes the achievement of high expectations, positive attitude and respect must be conveyed to the employee. It’s crucial to keep in mind that non-verbal communications (such as body language) can be a powerful way of projecting messages (Livingston, 1988, p.6). It is also of great importance that a manager has confidence in his own competence. When working with a coachee, a coach can utilize the Pygmalion effect by seeking out opportunities when he can express his expectations of the employee’s success. While keeping the goals attainable, the coach can show confidence in the employee’s abilities.

A coach can assume one of two motivating forces driving his employees: the desire to contribute and advance, or a wish to do as little as possible. Gaber refers to this as Theory Y and Theory X, respectively (1987, p100). By assuming either set of motivations, management pre-sets expectation of their employees, which can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.



Gaber, B. (January 1987). I’m OK, You’re Theory X. Training, 99.

Livingston, J.S. (September – October 1988). Pygmalion in Management. Harvard Business Review, 3.

What’s in a vision?

When facing change one of the most important elements is having a clear vision. The lack of one can have disastrous effects. Think about your goals. How do you see the end results? Your vision must be clear and well defined, and it should only take you a few minutes to communicate it to others. Make it short, sweet and to the point – and yes, interesting. At the end of the presentation (of your ideas) it should be obvious that your audience understands and that their own interest has been provoked.

But before a vision can inspire and be shared by others, it has to inspire you – the leader. Your vision must be in harmony with your own values, and you must be willing to set an example with your own actions. This goes back to the idea of walking the walk rather than telling people to do as you say, not as you do. It’s your task to convey the image of an exciting future to others, appealing to shared values and aspirations, thusly enlisting them to share the vision. If others see your passion and enthusiasm, they’re going to get curious. This curiosity provides you with the opportunity to share your vision with others, hopefully inspiring them and enlisting their help in achieving that vision.