Inspiring Leadership

Sometimes people need to eat their vegetables

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” ~ Rosalynn Carter

It’s easier to be the “nice” leader. But sometimes leaders need to give negative feedback or “constructive criticism.”

When we have to do this, it usually works best if we:

Don’t procrastinate. Give people time to adjust, and (if possible) to fix the problem. Give them constructive criticism before the “bad habits” are reinforced by repetition and/or the assumption that “everyone seemed okay with me doing it that way.”

Choose your words well. Pre-think how you will frame the information. Some people like things “sugar-coated,” and they respond best when constructive criticism is followed up with validation, e.g., “I’m so glad you are on our team.” Some people want you to “rip off the band-aid” and be direct, e.g., “This way isn’t working. I think we should do this other thing, instead.”

Comment on the task, the output, or the behavior, not the person. “THIS isn’t up to our standards” is much less threatening than “YOU are not up to our standards.”

Focus on improving performance, not on punishment. Frame the feedback as “ways to improve,” rather than just telling them everything that was wrong.

(Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash)