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Not Everybody Wishes to Climb the Corporate Ladder

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You have probably met corporate people who are five to ten years from retirement and have remained in their bottom-of-the-ladder “contributor” roles (as engineers, programmers, accountants, salespersons, etc.) for decades. Don’t they typically report to managers 10 to 15 years their juniors? Ever wonder why they never assumed managerial or leadership roles? Are they simply incompetent or unenthusiastic? Enquire around and you may be surprised to learn that they may have perhaps never desired to climb the corporate ladder. You will possibly learn that,

  • They are not aimless. In reality, at some point in their careers, they made a conscious choice to not pursue the traditional career advancement paths and stay in their roles as “senior contributors.” Their dominant priorities lie elsewhere: usually with family, community, faith, and creative interests. They view their careers as means to other ends. They set goals for what they seek to achieve, create a plan, and relate to their values in the right way, everyday.
  • They are quite influential in their organizations. They gain credibility not by virtue of positions or titles, but from years of experience, awareness of processes and historical perspectives. They seek to mentor young engineers and offer their opinions and judgments when consulted by management. They gain an immense sense of satisfaction by helping their organizations grow. They are widely respected.
  • Their salaries are quite comparable to people who have identical spans of service in their organizations and have assumed leadership roles. They are highly valuable contributors.

The “senior contributors” are not the only ones who have shunned the corporate ladder. Many women choose to work three days a week once they have kids. Husbands of career-minded moms have relinquished their rewarding careers to become stay-at-home dads and support their wives’ careers. Frequently, executives decline international assignments that could keep them away from family. All these people tend to feel in command of their life and career—they are more contented in their careers and have a stronger sense of work-life balance. For sure, they can teach the rest of us a thing or two about setting the course of our lives.

The long-hours culture is not for everybody

You probably recollect the days when corporate people had reasonably secure jobs, showed up at work every workday, clocked in, worked eight hours, clocked out, stopped thinking about work until the next workday, and enjoyed four weeks of vacation a year. They could maintain a healthy separation between work and personal time. Alas, those days are long over.

In today’s workplace, the demands on our energy, time, and creativity constantly overwhelm us, despite access to technology, computers, and other productivity tools. We have so much on our plates that we only rarely complete things WHEN and AS we would wish to. The workday is longer, the pace of work is faster, and most projects tend to be open-ended. The pressure to learn new skills is prominent. A successful corporate career demands a high-level of performance for sustained periods. At what cost, though? Unsurprisingly, the pressure to work harder and longer results in poor physical health, stress, anxiety, lesser time with family and friends, fewer opportunities to pursue hobbies and creative interests, and insufficient rest and relaxation.

Work or life or both—its your choice

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
* Henry David Thoreau

There is no magic potion or canned method for balancing your work and life. Finding balance is rather an exercise in finding a healthy perspective that works for you. Nobody but you can make the right choices and work out what is best for you to bring about a sense of satisfaction of physical, mental, financial, intellectual, professional, and social well-being.

Everyone has to find his or her own individual balance

The quest for work-life balance begins with defining what balance means to you. Reflect on what you value most in life and prioritize them. Include your family in your contemplations of choices and consequences. Establish a set of boundaries between an adequate amount of effort and return. Consider your personal and professional aspirations, the family and social life you desire, your hobbies and interests and your goals and dreams.

Ask yourself, “How much is adequate?” and, “How much success and money is good enough?” Set boundaries and limits between what you must do and what you want to achieve in the short term and in the long term. The choices you make and your ability to respect the limits your set for yourself should shape your work and career, not the other way around.

Explore alternate arrangements at work

After you reflect on what could constitute a sense of individual balance for you, examine your career objectives. Once you are clear about what you want, consider the potential consequences to your employer. Discuss your options and proposals with a trusted advisor, the human resources / personnel department, and your boss. Most companies care for their employees enough to offer options for part-time or flexible schedules, working from home or sabbaticals.

Lead a life to your own script, not to others’

The world will shape your life, if you let it. Establish what you want to achieve in your life; do not let others impose their proposals for you. Make the right choices and live true to your values. This is, in essence, the key to finding the illusive work-life balance.

Humility is a Mark of the Great

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Humility is a Life-long Pursuit

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.”
* The Holy Bible (Proverbs 18:12)

We live in a world that misconstrues the virtue of humility as a sign of meekness, timidity, lack of resolve, and, in general, a personal and leadership inadequacy. Could anything be more imprudent?

As the following narratives of great people will illustrate, humility is the bona fide characteristic of the truly accomplished and well-adjusted people. These great men and women live the life of modesty, unpretentiousness, and supreme confidence. They do not bear a sense of self-superiority and pride.

The Humility of Dr. Albert Einstein

“Einstein taught the greatest humility of all: that we are but a speck in an unfathomable large universe.”
* Time magazine, recognizing Albert Einstein as the Person of the Century

Sometime in the ’50s, Don Merwin, a producer of the ‘This I Believe’ radio program, visited Albert Einstein’s home in Princeton, New Jersey. He was to record Einstein speak his essay, “An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man” for the program. Don Merwin later recalled his experience: “I started setting up [the bulky tape recorder], and Dr. Einstein, who was a very amiable man, was chatting with me and expressed curiosity about tape-recording, which was fairly new in those days. He said, ‘How does it work?’ I started explaining the electronics of it, the way that the recording heads imprinted a signal on the moving tape. All of a sudden, I froze up. I said, ‘I am lecturing to Albert Einstein on physics!'” [Source: Allison, Jay, et al. (editors) “This I Believe: the Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women.”]

The Humility of Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna

Look at this 2007 picture from Deccan Herald, via Churumuri. Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, the 79-year old celebrated Indian Classical vocalist, expresses deep reverence and seeks the blessings of the 96-year old Dr. Gangubai Hangal, another legendary vocalist.

The Humility of Sri Veerendra Heggade

How about this 2009 picture from Karnataka News (via Churumuri?) Sri Veerendra Heggade, the widely respected guardian of a prominent temple in South India, holds an umbrella to shield from sun blaze the chairman of a culture convention at a parade in the latter’s honor.

The Humility of Peter Drucker

I have read of many an instance of the humility of Peter Drucker, the most influential management philosopher of the modern era. Here are two anecdotes:

  • Executive-education student Cathy Taylor remembers Peter Drucker conscientiously writing down autograph seekers’ names on a napkin to get the spelling correct before he made the formal inscription.
  • Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard remembers Peter Drucker “apologizing for taking so long to answer the doorbell at his modest home in Claremont, California. He said he was still adapting to his new artificial knees.”

Call for Action: Try to Practice Humility

Humility is simply the absence of pride. Humility and modesty are the marks of a genuine individual. However, practicing humility is often easier said than done. Deplorably, our society and world of work characterizes humility as significantly antithetical to the impression of the intelligent professional and competent leader. It is rather easy to succumb to the temptation to enhance our ego.

Hard as it may be, try to practice humility whenever an opportunity arises. Here are few remainders to bear in mind.

Want to be more likeable? Improve your customer service? Adopt Sam Walton’s “Ten-Foot Rule”

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Walton Ten-Foot Rule

Sam Walton, Walmart’s iconic founder and perhaps the most successful entrepreneur of his generation, demonstrated considerable charisma, ambition, and drive from a very young age.

Sam was a committed student leader when he attended the University of Missouri, Columbia. One of the secrets to his reputation in college was that he would greet and speak to everybody he came across on campus. If he knew them, he was sure to address them by their name. In a short time, he had made many friends and was well-liked. Small wonder, then, that Sam triumphed in nearly all the student elections he entered.

From his bestselling autobiography, “Made in America”:

'Sam Walton: Made In America' by Sam Walton (ISBN 0553562835) I had decided I wanted to be president of the university student body. I learned early on that one of the secrets to campus leadership was the simplest thing of all: speak to people coming down the sidewalk before they speak to you. I did that in college. I did it when I carried my papers. I would always look ahead and speak to the person coming toward me. If I knew them, I would call them by name, but even if I didn’t I would still speak to them. Before long, I probably knew more students than anybody in the university, and they recognized me and considered me their friend. I ran for every office that came along. l was elected president of the senior men’s honor society, QEBH, an officer in my fraternity, and president of the senior class. I was captain and president of Scabbard and Blade, the elite military organization of ROTC.

When Walmart became sizeable enough, Sam realized that it could not offer prices lower than those of other retail giants—yet. As part of his customer service strategy, he institutionalized the very trait that had made him popular when he was a student. He insisted on the “Walton Ten-Foot Rule.” According to the rule, when Walmart associates (as Walmart calls its employees) came within ten feet of customers, they were to smile, make eye contact, greet the customer, and offer assistance. As Walmart grew, Sam added greeters who would greet customers at the door (and control “shrinkage” / shoplifting.) Even today, the Ten-Foot Rule is a part of the Walmart culture.

Likeability: A Predictor of Success

Likeability is an important predictor to success in life. Some people seem naturally endowed with appealing personalities. They tend to complement their talents by being personable and graceful, presenting themselves well, and by possessing the appropriate social skills for every occasion. They often win others over effortlessly. At school and in college, they are their teachers’ favorites and are chosen by their peers to represent their classes. They are invited to the right kind of parties and gatherings, and infuse them with life. At work, they are persuasive; they get noticed and quickly climb the corporate ladder.

From my observations of the traits of the talented and successful, I offer you a few reminders to help you become more personable, develop rapport, and thus maximize your chance of success:

Compilation of Job Interview Questions

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A couple of years ago, I compiled a list of job interview questions and loosely categorized this list by personal attributes, career performance, communication skills, team skills, managerial skills, and leadership skills.

I have since shared this list with recruiting managers (interviewers) and job candidates (interviewees) who I have coached. I suggest that recruiting managers choose eight questions on varied topics for a thirty-minute interview. Job candidates can select twenty-five questions and practice answering these questions by recording and reviewing their answers.

Job Interview Questions on Personal Attributes

  • Why do you think you are successful at what you do?
  • What you consider your biggest fault at work? Why do you think you have it and what are you doing about it?
  • What defines a challenge to you?
  • Describe the situation when your expectations were not met.
  • What is a misconception people have about you when they first meet you?
  • How do you maintain your passion in a place that lacks accountability?
  • Tell me about a time when you felt culturally ill-at-ease and how do you cope with it?
  • What is the single best quality that you have seen in people—a quality that you do not possess?
  • Tell me about yourself.
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • What was a constructive criticism you received and how did you respond to it?
  • Tell me about a failure. How would you know you failed in something?
  • Tell me about a time when your belief was challenged.
  • Give me an instance when your ethics have been challenged.
  • Give me an example when you were criticised for your personality.
  • If you had a month without any commitments, what would you do?
  • What are people most surprised to learn about you?
  • What do you consider to be your key values? Name a time when these values were challenged.
  • What is something from your past that you wish you would have done differently and why?
  • List three things that motivate you at work.
  • What is your one personal trait you most admire and why?
  • What motivates you to succeed?
  • How do you measure success?
  • What are you passionate about?
  • Which business leader do you admire? Why?
  • Describe a typical day at work.
  • Tell me about the current (non-professional) book you are reading? What did you learn from it?
  • Who is a prominent figure that you admire? Why?
  • What is your biggest regret and thus far?
  • What do you enjoy most about your job?
  • What is the one impression you want me to leave this interview with?
  • What do you look for in a job?
  • What were the high and low points in your life over the past few years?
  • What was the toughest integrity violation you have ever encountered, and how did you handle it?
  • Have you ever had to define yourself in the midst of criticism, and did you succeed?
  • When have you been blindsided in life, and why did it happen?

Job Interview Questions on Career Performance

  • What class did you like the most while you were at school? Why? How have you pursued that topic since you graduated?
  • When was the last time you were forced to step out of your comfort zone? What is the situation and how did you deal with it?
  • Suppose you discover that you missed a significant detail six hours before a project deadline. What would you do?
  • What you think about your current or former boss?
  • Was there a time where you had to choose between good opportunities? Which one did you choose?
  • Career-wise, was there anything in the last five years that you would have done differently?
  • How does your current or last job relate to the overall goals of your department or organisation?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • Tell me about a time when you personally failed. How did you handle it?
  • How do you feel about your career progress to date?
  • What would your peers at this organisation say on your second year anniversary?
  • When did you realise you needed a change in your career path?
  • What was your best mistake?
  • What about our position do you find most attractive? Least attractive?
  • Tell me about time when you overcame a problem and took initiative.
  • What was your most challenging work situation?
  • What has been your most creative solution to a problem?
  • What has been the highlight of your career?
  • What is the best idea you have ever had and why?
  • What is the one thing you would change about how you performed in your job in the last few years?
  • How have you changed the nature of your job?
  • Tell me about a time at work when things did not go well.
  • Describe the key characteristics of the business you are in.
  • Describe your organisation.
  • Describe your job. Being effective in this job means?
  • What are the key things that have happened since you took this job? What did you do? Why? What effect did you have? What problems developed? How did you handle these problems?
  • How effective do you think you have been in this job? Specifically, why do you say this? What are the performance measures? What is it about you, the job, or its context that has contributed to this level of effectiveness? What could you have done better?
  • What are you trying to achieve in your career? In your life?

Job Interview Questions on Communication, Conflicts

  • Tell me about a time when you worked with someone and had a difficult interaction or disagreement. How did you resolve it?
  • Describe a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker. How did you resolve it?
  • Tell me about a time when your powers of persuasion failed.
  • Give me an example of a time when you made a mistake because you did not listen well to what someone had to say.
  • Describe the most challenging negotiation in which you were involved. What did you do? What were the results for you? What were the results for the other party?
  • When a number of different people come to you with ideas about solving a problem, how do you go about using their information? Please give an example.
  • Tell me about a time when you have had to stand or defend a position that was not popular or easily accepted?
  • What was the hardest thing you had to say no to in the last two years?
  • Have you ever disagreed with your manager?
  • How do you approach resolving a conflict within a group?

Job Interview Questions on Team Skills

  • How would you pick a team?
  • What is your role on a team?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to deliver bad news to your team.
  • Tell me about a time when you let your team down.
  • How do you create accountability and create a strong team?
  • Describe a time when you were working in a team and you failed. How did you resolve the situation?
  • What characteristics do you look for in your team members?
  • Describe a situation when your team fell apart.
  • How would you describe your best friend?
  • What weaknesses do you have or experience when you are working in a team environment?
  • In the teams that you work with, how do you deal with disagreements between the team members?
  • Who was the toughest person you have worked with?
  • Discuss your worst team work experience.
  • Describe five qualities that you would want your team members to have for you to work effectively with them.
  • Tell me about a time when you lead a team and failed.

Job Interview Questions on Managerial Skills

  • What was the biggest mistake you have had when delegating work?
  • What is your biggest weakness as a manager?
  • How do you know when the project is working well? If it is not, how do you address the problem?
  • Describe a time when you had to be assertive in giving directions to others.
  • Tell me how you go about delegating work? How did you keep track of delegated assignments?
  • Describe characteristics of a bad team member or supervisor you have worked with.
  • What would you do if your boss in the job came to you requesting you to do something that you know is definitely dead wrong?
  • What is your management style?
  • Tell me about a time when your relationship with a colleague broke down. What did you learn from that?
  • Tell me about a time when you helped someone else succeed without doing the job for them.
  • Describe the situation when you had to micromanage. How did you go about it? What were the results?
  • What is the most difficult aspect of being a manager?
  • Tell me about an instance when you had to work with a difficult person? What did you learn?
  • Give me an instance where you handled a difficult subordinate at work.
  • Consider me to be your employee. I am not performing well. How would you fire me? Please play it out.
  • Describe an experience where you motivated your followers. Why you think you were able to do it?
  • Tell me about when you had to work with someone you did not get along with, or someone whose personality was different from yours.
  • What would your subordinates say about you and your leadership style?
  • How do you deal with difficult personalities?
  • If you were the CEO of a company and had to do downsizing, what people would you layoff, and, how would you implement this?
  • How do you handle working with people who are not good at their jobs?
  • How do you evaluate the productivity / effectiveness of your subordinates? How do you get data for performance reviews?
  • How would you describe your managerial style? How has changed over the past five or ten years?
  • Give me examples of your hiring successes and disasters? Explain what you got right—and what you missed.
  • Can you point to any of your people who grew up with your guidance and have gone on to succeed in your own company or beyond?

Job Interview Questions on Leadership Skills

  • Describe the qualities of a good manager or a leader you have worked with. Why are these important?
  • How has your leadership style evolved from ten years ago?
  • Define leadership. How does a good manager differ from a good leader?
  • Tell me about a time when you challenged somebody else’s idea and generated a new business initiative or project.
  • What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you? Describe an example.
  • Tell me about a time when you influenced others who were not your subordinates.
  • Tell me about a time when you saw poor leadership at work.
  • When you start your own company, what qualities will you look for in people you choose to partner with?
  • What is the most competitive situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
  • Tell me about a time when you developed a new business opportunity. What was the impact?
  • Describe a failure at work, how did you deal with it, and what did you learn from it?
  • What will be happening in our industry five years from now?
  • Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacle that you had not foreseen? What happened?
  • Tell me about a time when you overcame a problem or took initiative to solve something.
  • Describe a project where you preferred a common sense approach to an analytical approach to solve a problem.
  • What is your leadership style? How do you build consensus without using authority?
  • Some people consider themselves to be ‘big picture people’ and others are ‘detail oriented.’ Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
  • What do you think is the most important thing a business needs to develop?
  • What is the riskiest decision you have made? What was the situation? What happened?
  • What you think are the three qualities of a leader? Give me an example of a situation in which you exhibited each of these.
  • If you had to assemble a team to work on a project, which three celebrities would you choose and why?
  • Describe a situation when something went totally awry.
  • In your present position, what problems did you identify that had previously been overlooked?
  • How do you get new ideas?
  • Tell me about a time when you saw a solution before everybody else.
  • Tell me about the most impactful failure in your life? What did you learn from it?
  • Tell me a situation where you took risks.
  • What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved? Where did the ideas come from?
  • What is the role of management in today’s global economy?
  • What are the toughest decisions you have had to make in the last few years?
  • What was your biggest management challenge, and how did you handle it?
  • In your career, what is the best example of you anticipating market changes that your competitors did not?
  • When did your curiosity lead you to probe deeply and uncover a competitive trend or marketplace dynamic that others did not see, or, did not want to see?
  • People frequently borrow ideas they have seen elsewhere and then apply them in a new setting. How have you done this?

Inspirational Quotations #246

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Hard work performed in a disciplined manner will in most cases keep the worker fit and also prolong his life.
—Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (Indian Engineer)

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
—Elbert Hubbard (American Writer)

Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.
—Leo Buscaglia (American Motivational Speaker)

‘If something’s free, I’ll take two,’ a mentor of mine once said. His point was that people don’t value things they don’t pay for.
—Edwin Feulner (American Economist)

A great mentor is one who aims for others’ abilities to surpass his own.
—Unknown

We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
—Laozi (Chinese Philosopher)

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (American Head of State)

Throughout his life, a wise man engages in practice of all his useful, rarely used skills, many of them outside his discipline, as a sort of duty to his better self. If he reduces the number of skills he practices and, therefore, the number of skills he retains, he will naturally drift into error from man with a hammer tendency. … Skills of a very high order can be maintained only with daily practice.
—Charlie Munger

A cheerful thought in you produces cheerful thoughts in others. You are filled with joy and intense delight when you see a batch of hilarious children playing mirthfully and dancing in joy.
—Sivananda Saraswati

Be prepared to take some shit in life; just do not take more than a mouthful at a time.
—Movie: Forrest Gump

What the Deaf Can Teach Us About Listening

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Lessons of Silence

Bruno Kahne, a corporate consultant for the aeronautical industry, shares how deaf people helped his corporate clients be effective communicators. His article appears on the website of the strategy+business magazine, published by management consulting firm Booz & Company. See full article or PDF file. Below is a summary of the article.

Through their “handicap,” deaf people develop certain communication skills more thoroughly than most hearing people, which make them uncommonly effective at getting their point across. When they interact with one another, deaf people act in ways that let them communicate more rapidly and accurately than hearing people.

To improve your “hearing,” consider some of these lessons from our experiences and training sessions.

  1. Do not take notes. You will be more present in the interaction and you can concentrate more. And the more you do it, the better you remember.
  2. Don’t interrupt. A deaf person ensures that he or she first understands the other speaker before trying to be understood. Try this the next time you’re in a business discussion, ideally one in which there’s some tension—let the other person finish what he or she has to say, then silently count to three before responding.
  3. Say what you mean, as simply as possible. Deaf people are direct. They reveal not only their thoughts, but also their feelings, both positive and negative, more clearly than hearing people do, as they express them with their whole bodies. Similarly, the deaf are often far better than hearing people at finding the most economical way to convey their message.
  4. When you don’t understand something, ask. Deaf people feel completely at ease saying “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” Those of us with hearing aren’t nearly as willing to admit confusion or lack of comprehension. We often sit silently in meetings while our colleagues use acronyms or technical jargon we don’t grasp because we think asking for clarification is a sign of weakness.
  5. Stay focused. The deaf cut themselves off from any distractions, they don’t multitask, and they focus their attention entirely on the conversation.

Overall, the most inspiring thing about communication with deaf people—and the behavior most worth emulating—is their incredibly strong desire to exchange information efficiently and without adornment.

Call for Action

All of the suggestions in the article are trite and obvious. When I discuss such desired behaviors in my seminars or during one-on-one coaching sessions, I can sense my audience negligently declaring, “I know that.” My response is usually along the lines of “Sure, you know that. And, tell me how and where do you apply these ideas in your everyday interactions?”

Most of the articles I write on this blog are about simple ideas. I hope my articles serve as a reminder of key principles and help you tune-up your communications and behaviors. As you read through my articles, instead of declaring, “I know that,” ask, “How do/can I apply these principles in my everyday interactions?” Take responsibility for the effectiveness of your communications and your ability to influence and get the results you desire.

***Via ‘I can see what they’re saying,’ Doc Searls at Harvard

Who’s Responsible for Your Career

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A large number of professionals continue to mistakenly subscribe to the notion their organizations are responsible for managing their careers. They suppose that their Human Resources departments or their bosses would create their career paths and guide them at each stage.

Predetermined Job Ladders?

Certain organizations–the military, the police force, for example–may offer predetermined job ladders. It is customary in these organizations to award promotion based on length of service, training completed, or, to a lesser extent, on-the-job achievements.

Other organizations offer ‘development programs’. (Refer to this list of Leadership Programs offered by General Electric.) Essentially, these programs comprise of a series of rotational assignments across diverse functions of the corporation. For example, the manufacturing-leadership program at a capital goods company may involve four six-month assignments–one assignment each in supply chain management, shop-floor operations, production capacity planning and manufacturing finance. These development programs enable an apprentice to be exposed to a broad range of functions and gain valuable experience. Even with these programs, though, you are expected to pursue a longer-term assignment in one of the functional areas at the end of the rotations. Beyond that, employees are expected to manage the rest of their careers.

You Manage Your Career

Your career growth is solely your responsibility– it not the organization’s or your boss’s duty. You should be responsible for planning your own career, continually evaluating goals and implementing initiatives for your professional growth.

Here are a few suggestions to help you establish a roadmap for the skills, expertise and experience you need to get where you want to be.

  • Research for job opportunities at your company and in other organizations. What skills are recruiters looking for in potential employees?
  • Study the profiles of successful people in your industry. Why are they successful? What are their academic backgrounds? What are their career paths? What professional associations do they belong to?
  • Reach out and network. Meet as many people as you can by joining professional associations and maintaining regular contact. Studies have shown that 70-80% of all executive jobs are found through professional networking.
  • Seek a mentor’s help. Request a member of your management team or industry association, a retiree or a local business owner to help you understand your strengths and interests and develop a career plan in your chosen industry.
  • Volunteer and be known. When you volunteer on cross-functional committees for product improvement or professional development, the decision-makers can get to know you, your skills, abilities and career interests. Such exposure will help them consider you for challenging assignments.

Related Articles

Manager Tools’ Feedback Model

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Preamble

The last two articles discussed the popular ‘sandwich technique‘ for giving interpersonal feedback. The first article introduced the sandwich feedback technique. The second article critiqued this method and discussed three common mistakes that render the sandwich technique ineffective.

This follow-up article will introduce an effective feedback technique and list links for further information.

This article focuses on manager-to-employee feedback. However this feedback model can be the foundation for giving feedback in other interpersonal contexts as well—between peers or between spouses, for instance.

The Manager Tools Feedback Model

Manager Tools is a widely-admired suite of management techniques to help shape effective managers and leaders. The weekly podcasts on this site feature Manager Tools’ principals, Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne, discussing their tools and tips to help audiences advance their managerial and leadership skills. The discussion forums are useful as well.

Perhaps the most popular and most effective of the Manager Tools ideas is the effective feedback model. Here is a summary of the four steps in this feedback technique.

  1. Ask an employee whether they are open to some feedback. Example: “Jack, may I give you some feedback?”
  2. Describe specific behavior you saw, heard, or read about. Example: “Jack, when you roll your eyes in meetings when others talk; when you say “you guys don’t get it”; when you come late to meetings and leave in the middle…”
  3. Describe the impact of the behavior. Once you have described what you observed, tell them what you felt or what impact it had on the company, project, or team. Example: “Jack, when you roll your eyes and tell others they “don’t get it”, here’s what happens. We lose good people. You lose opportunities you want, like that last move that you didn’t get.”
  4. Discuss next steps. Even with affirmative (positive) feedback, state “Good work. Keep it up.” For corrective (negative) feedback, ask open-ended or leading questions to encourage the employee to suggest change. Example: “What can you do about this? How can I help you?”

Further Information

Here are links to podcasts and references for further information on the Manager Tools effective feedback model.

Call for Action

Feedback is a central component of the manager-employee relationship. Employees get better at their jobs only when their managers give them timely, relevant and forthright feedback—both affirmative and corrective feedback.

Use the Manager Tools feedback model to enhance your feedback skills and communicate effectively with employees.

Why the Compliment Sandwich Feedback Technique is Ineffective

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Sandwich feedback technique

Yesterday’s article presented the popular ‘sandwich technique’ for giving interpersonal feedback. This follow-up article will critique this method and discuss three common mistakes that render the sandwich technique ineffective.

These discussions and examples focus on manager-to-employee feedback. However, this analysis is relevant to other interpersonal contexts, including interactions between peers or between spouses.

Mary Kay Ash on the Sandwich Technique

Mary Kay Ash, American entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, discusses the sandwich feedback technique in her popular book, ‘Mary Kay on People Management’.

'Mary Kay on People Management' by Mary Kay Ash (ISBN 0446513148) Sandwich every bit of criticism between two heavy layers of praise. … A manager should be able to tell someone when something is wrong without bruising an ego in the process.

Never giving criticism without praise is a strict rule for me. No matter what you are criticizing, you must find something good to say—both before and after. This is called sandwich technique.

Try to praise in the beginning and then again after discussing the problem. You don’t subject people to harsh criticism or provoke anger.

Common Mistake 1: Praise is substantial and obscures the criticism

Sandwich feedback: when praise obscures criticism Consider the following case. Sarah was the head of a committee that organized the annual family picnic at her company. The committee exceeded the picnic budget by 35%. Sarah’s boss uses the sandwich technique to criticize her for her failure to control expenditure.

  • Praise: “Sarah, our management was very impressed with the attendance at our annual family picnic. The weather was great. The catered food was excellent. The activities for children were wonderful. You even organized contests for children and family.”
  • Criticism: “By the way, you overspent by 35%. You should check your expenses and try to be within budget.”
  • Praise: “I understand you worked very hard to coordinate the logistics. I congratulate you for doing a remarkable job leading the committee and for your enthusiasm. Thank you for a job well done.”

In the above example, the praise is substantial and obscures the criticism. Sarah may neglect the criticism since the criticism is insignificant—therefore, lost—when sandwiched between “heavy layers of praise.”

Common Mistake 2: Praise is trivial or just-for-sake and serves no function

Sandwich feedback: when feedback is trivial or just for sake Suppose that Charlie led a brainstorming meeting for a new product. One of his new fresh-from-college employees proposed an idea that was not practicable. Charlie was annoyed with the idea and responded, “That is a stupid idea. You are thoughtless. You have been here for less than a week. I don’t think you are knowledgeable enough to contribute to our discussions here.”

Janet, Charlie’s boss, observed this interaction. After the meeting, she wanted to criticize Charlie for condemning the new employee in the presence of several other employees. Janet recalled the sandwich feedback technique. However, she could not conceive praise for Charlie. Hastily, she stated something trivial just for the sake of paving the way to her criticism.

  • Praise: “Charlie, good job organizing the meeting.”
  • Criticism: “I noticed that you openly called the new employee’s idea “foolish” and dismissed it. Don’t you realize he is fresh from college? Did you see his reaction? He felt dejected and showed no enthusiasm during the rest of the meeting. He was probably there to meet people from our department and learn how we manage projects. How can you expect him to feel happy about joining your team? I have noticed that you jump to criticize other people’s ideas in meetings. A good manager encourages participation. I think you should apologize to the new employee. [Pause]”
  • Praise: “Hmm … anyway. Good meeting. I liked your flowchart.”

As in the above example, for the sake of sandwiching their criticism, managers tend to offer unrelated—often trivial—praises when faced with the challenge of criticizing their employees. Such praise is inconsequential and, therefore, defeats the purpose of the sandwich technique.

Common Mistake 3: Employees get tuned in to the praise-criticism-praise pattern

Sandwich feedback: employees get tuned in to the pattern Once managers use the sandwich feedback technique a few times, employees recognize the praise-criticism-praise pattern. They realize that the managers offer criticism after initiating their conversations with praise. Subsequently they learn to discount this praise since such praise is just a lead-in to the criticism.

Idea for Impact: Compliment Sandwiches are Easily Spotted as Inauthentic; The Sandwich Feedback Technique is Ineffective

Frequently, from the aforementioned mistakes, the sandwich technique undercuts praise with criticism. A praise followed by criticism undermines the positive impact of praise and weakens the corrective feedback’s significance.

Sandwich feedback is perhaps best used to help new managers develop feedback skills: to provide affirmative feedback to encourage employees to repeat desired behaviors and to offer corrective feedback to influence change. Once managers are comfortable giving feedback, they can focus on discussing what their employees do right and defer offering corrective feedback for other conversations.

In summary, it’s best to be direct when giving feedback, because the compliment sandwiches are easily spotted as inauthentic. Feedback is effective only when it’s timely, relevant and forthright. Tomorrow’s article will introduce an effective feedback technique.

Inspirational Quotations #207

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There is nothing so powerful as the truth.
—Anonymous

When one is out of touch with oneself, one cannot touch others.
—Anonymous

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

Man is never helped in his suffering by what he thinks for himself, but only by revelation of a wisdom greater than his own. It is this which lifts him out of his distress.
—Carl Jung (Swiss Psychologist)

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
—English Proverb

What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.
—Ernest Hemingway (American Author)

Never let a day go by without giving at least three people a compliment.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (American Author)

I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.
—Ernest Hemingway (American Author)

The average man plays to the gallery of his own self-esteem.
—Elbert Hubbard (American Writer)

Men should be judged, not by their tint of skin,
the Gods they serve, the Vintage they drink,
nor by the way they fight, or love, or sin,
But by the quality of the thought they think
—Adela Florence Nicolson (English Poet)

To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education– literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills.
—Alan Greenspan (American Economist)