Great Manager

The Difference between Coaching and Feedback

November 3, 2015 By Nagesh Belludi 4 Comments

Perhaps this is a matter of semantics; but in my leadership consulting, I help managers identify the following nuances between coaching and feedback.

In the following discussion, ‘feedback’ refers chiefly to corrective or “negative” feedback. Appreciative or “positive” feedback in the form of honest praises, approvals, and compliments are just as essential as corrective feedback. As I’ve written in previous articles, great managers communicate corrective feedback and appreciative feedback distinctly instead of interspersing them in the form of “feedback sandwiches.”

Differences between Coaching and Feedback

Coaching is preparative. Feedback is corrective.
Coaching focuses on possibilities. Feedback focuses on adjustment.
Coaching is about future behavior. Feedback is about past (and current) behavior.
Coaching is inquiry-oriented. Feedback is scrutiny-oriented.
Coaching stems from developmental needs. Feedback stems from judgmental needs.
Coaching is about assisting employees reach their goals for the future. Feedback is about helping employees understand what prevents them from reaching their current goals.
Coaching is about advocating optimal performance. Feedback is about reinforcing appropriate behavior.
Coaching is more about helping employees grow. Feedback is more about helping employees not fail. (Both coaching and feedback are about helping employees succeed.)
Coaching guides employees in the direction that suits them best. Feedback ensures that employees uphold espoused values and meet expectations.

A Fast-Food Approach to Management // Book Summary of Blanchard & Johnson’s ‘The One Minute Manager’

October 20, 2015 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The “One Minute Manager” is one of those best-selling business books that I’ve heard a lot about but never actually read, until recently. First published in 1982 and subsequently translated into dozens of languages, this book has sold over 13 million copies. Legions of managers and HR-trainers swear by this book. Organizations around the world have distributed it as mandatory reading to their employees.

The book’s central ideas are simplistic and cliched:

When managers treat their employees right and give them clear directions, they’ll feel good about themselves and develop into happier, more productive workers.
Employees learn only through positive reinforcement when they do something right and through sharp criticism when they do something wrong.

Written as an allegory, the “One Minute Manager” follows an aspiring young manager who discovers the one-minute manager when seeking to find and learn from an effective manager.

The one-minute manager is rarely seen around, doesn’t like to participate in any of his staff’s decision-making, and makes only brief appearances to reward or reprove. His minimalist approach to employee management consists of:

One-minute goal-setting, where the manager discusses the employee’s goals frequently and resets them when necessary, and
One-minute praising and one-minute reprimand, where the manager gives specific, immediate, and direct appreciative or corrective feedback on how he thinks the employee is doing versus set goals. While reprimanding, the one-minute manager takes care to separate the performance from the person; he chastises the behavior, not the person.

Oddly enough, the authors encourage managers to shake hands or touch employees’ shoulders “in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side” and then encourage, reassure, and show support.

There’s nothing intriguing, stimulating, or profound in this book to justify its popularity. Perhaps its simplicity was intentional—the fable-like narrative quickly grabbed attention. It struck a resonant chord in the 1980s and catered to a sense of urgency within organizations to quickly and easily make managers effective.

The One Minute Manager’s fast-food approach to management focuses on just two elements of what managers do: goal-setting and giving feedback. There’s nothing about employee development, delegation, compensation and benefits, teams, and other important elements of a manager’s responsibilities.

Recommendation: Skim. This book is an introductory quick-read for new managers who may be particularly inexperienced with setting goals and appraising employees.

Don’t be Friends with Your Employees

December 26, 2012 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Be friendly with your employees, but don’t be friends with them.

To be effective, managers need to to be obliging when they can and tough when they must. The boss-employee relationship implies a power structure that makes managing friends quite challenging. It can be difficult to give objective performance feedback to your friends, convince them defer to your authority over them, or to decline requests for specific allowances without harming the friendship.

Few managers who’ve been promoted from within to manage their peers come out of the boss-employee relationship with their friendships intact.

If you decide to be friends with your employees, don’t do it at the expense of being a boss.

Defend in Public, Reprimand in Private [Two-Minute Mentor #3]

November 19, 2012 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

When Richard Branson, founder and chairperson of the Virgin Group, was seven years old, he took some 50 pence in loose change from his father’s table and walked over to a candy store. The shopkeeper suspected Richard and wanted to call his mischief. The shopkeeper called Richard Branson’s father and asked him to come down to the store. The shopkeeper told the dad, “I assume your son has taken this, that you didn’t give it to him?” Richard Branson’s dad seemed irritated at this suggestion. He retorted back to the shopkeeper, “How dare you accuse him of stealing!” Although the senior Branson knew Richard had taken the 50 pence, he avoided humiliating his son in the open. Back home, Richard Branson admitted he had taken the coins from his dad and swore never to take money again without permission.

Idea for Impact

Most people are conscientious enough to recognize their mistakes. They do not want to be humiliated or shamed in the presence of peers and team members. Nor do not need their managers, parents, or other authority figures to ram mistakes down their throats.

When you think you can nail someone’s mistake in the open, take a breather and give a face-saving opportunity for the other. Avoid the temptation to put them down in public. In the privacy of one-on-one meetings, listen to their points of view, describe the impact of their ideas and behaviors, encourage them to reflect on their mistakes, and correct themselves.

Nobody Likes a Tattletale: Do Not Play the Office Cop

February 8, 2012 By Nagesh Belludi 1 Comment

A co-worker takes twice as many days off as your company allows. The receptionist is frequently on the phone with her boyfriend. A team member goofs off all the time and never gets his job done. To top it all, your easygoing boss does not seem concerned about all these. Convinced you should tell on others? Thinking of complaining to your HR in the interest of fairness?

Do not play the office cop. Because, nobody likes a tattletale. Moreover, it’s is your boss’s job to keep an eye on everybody at your workplace and correct them if necessary, not yours. You have some influence over your peers, but no authority. Hence, you cannot control them.

Examine Your Motivations

Tattling is a common trait during the formative years of life. Children tend to feel compelled to notify elders when siblings or other children do something wrong. By taking on a parental responsibility under the guise of being helpful, young tattletales use a socially acceptable way to tell on others and get them in trouble. As children age, they learn to discern between when to keep a secret and when to inform on others. Some never seem to outgrow the need to tattle or gossip and bring these traits to the workplace.

A tattletale is usually motivated by selfish reasons. Therefore, examine what is behind your own desire to inform on someone. Are you bothered more by your boss’s laidback attitude rather than the behaviors of your colleagues? Are you trying to draw positive attention to your own righteous adherence to the rules? Is your intention to gain acceptance by management and be seen as a dependable employee? Are you seeking to curry favor with the boss? Or, do you sadistically enjoy having your colleagues punished or embarrassed?

Don’t Rob the Workplace of Trust

A tattletale quickly destroys team morale and brings about increased conflict in the workplace. In successful organizations, team members set high expectations for one another and push each other to work smarter. When you do complain to your boss, you do not want to raise anything that may seem trivial or vindictive.

If you observe an incident that might constitute a breach of ethics or is significant enough to affect your team, you have every right to blow the whistle through the established channels or a whistleblowing system even at the risk of being branded a tattletale. The standards of decency require you to talk directly to anybody who offends you before going to your boss. If a peer persistently interferes with your work or sabotages your projects, you should privately warn the offender that if it happens again, you would report it to your boss.

Wisdom Comes from Knowing What to Overlook

Control the impulse to be worked up and tattletale on issues that have little to do with your own work. Let your resentment subside. Be quiet and keep your head down. If someone’s behavior is genuinely in the way getting a job done, wait for a manager or HR to identify and fix the problem.

For now, think of ways to ask your lenient boss for some extra time off for yourself.

25 Ways to Instantly Become a Better Boss

August 2, 2010 By Nagesh Belludi 2 Comments

Bad management is not usually a result of bosses not knowing what to do to manage better. Rather, it stems largely from bosses not putting conventional managerial skills into practice. Little wonder, then, that despite the billions that organizations pour into managerial training, instances of shoddy management abound.

Here are a few simple and specific actions you can take now to become an effective boss.

Smile more
Appreciate more, judge less
Compliment openly; critique and correct in private
Don’t worry about who gets credit; give credit where due
Give feedback now; don’t wait until the next performance review
Reiterate employees’ strengths and make them feel smarter
Get rid of busy work
Simplify work and encourage expediency
Establish deadlines and stick with them
Organize employees’ time and priorities
Explain what needs to be done and get out of the way
Avoid giving conflicting orders
Find the time to listen to your employees and follow-up
Recognize the small picture
Seek to understand what inhibits employee effectiveness
Give employees adequate latitude
Fix problems, not blames
Encourage mistakes; own up to your mistakes
Standup for your employees
Encourage participation in decision-making
Be tough-minded, not mean
Do not play favorites; discourage sucking up
Be accessible and friendly, yet consistent and objective
Earn respect; don’t demand deference
Attempt to influence by persuasion, not by wielding authority

Hiring: If You Pay Peanuts, You Get Monkeys

April 20, 2010 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

If You Pay Peanuts, You Get Monkeys During the economic slowdown last year, a manager had a choice between two consultants for a critical project to turnaround the prospects of his division. The first candidate was five years out of business school; his billing rate was $370 an hour. The second, more experienced candidate’s was $510 an hour. Without much deliberation, the manager hired the first candidate because he would fit in the manager’s budget. Things did not work out as well as the manager had expected. Three months later, after considerable delays and missed opportunities, the manager fired his consultant and recruited the second candidate anyway. This consultant had an earlier experience similar to the situation at hand and succeeded in his mission in due course.

The best don’t come cheap

Recruiting is the toughest responsibility of a manager. Prudent hiring processes start with a realization that talented professionals are the heart of successful organizational endeavors. Many managers simply do not take in this fact and signup those who cost the least instead.

Economic downturn or lower project budgets are no reasons for careless hiring decisions. It is exactly during though times that managers should recruit the best people. And, the best don’t come cheap.

Now, I am not saying that high-priced consultants and employees are necessarily good. The converse is not automatically true either. Market demand for talent often dictates billing rates and compensation of skilled professionals. There is often a strong reason for them being in demand and commanding premium fees. No manager dare overlook such considerations.

No Swearing & Profanity: Mind Your Language

July 23, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi 2 Comments

Last week, Time Magazine discussed research that suggests that using curse words can help cope with physical pain. This reminds me of a 2007 research that implies that regular swearing helps employees better express their feelings in stressful circumstances and boosts team morale.

Such research is misleading in that the findings may be perceived as approving of profanity at work. As work environments have become more laid-back over the years, swearing is more commonplace than in the past, especially in blue-collar environments and certain other workplace cultures.

Harry S. Dennis III of The Executive Committee (TEC) in Wisconsin and Michigan explores two bases for the tolerance of profanity in workplaces.

The laid-back we-are-all-in-this-together culture is almost like a fraternity environment. The use of profanity somehow communicates a symbolic unity. Employees believe that their degree of comfort with one another means it’s OK to let down their guard. It becomes a casual exchange and falsely suggests a degree of communication intimacy.

In the hard-driving aggressive environment, employees use profanity to communicate urgency, a need for action. Most swear words are one syllable, so they carry a bullet-like impact and light a fire under the butt of the person on the receiving end so they get the job done. It is, in fact, a terrible negative motivator.

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer at Microsoft, Bob Nardelli at Home Depot, Carol Betz at Yahoo! and other executives are reported to have cussed at work. When leaders and managers swear without restraint to express annoyance at an employee, colleague, competitor, customer or circumstance, the message they convey to their organizations is that profanity is acceptable. This is akin to potty-mouthed parents hinting that it is probably OK for their watchful kids to use curse words.

Swearing and poor language is not acceptable in any professional setting. Swearing is dysfunctional to the cohesiveness of teams. Many employees find use of expletives as discourteous and quickly lose respect for those using profane language. Managers’ abusive management style can quickly intimidate employees who may hesitate to speak out.

Bad language is unacceptable behavior. Organizations should require that employees exercise common sense and avoid using colorful language. HR must deal with issues of swearing in the workplace as they occur and institute disciplinary procedures to prevent charges of workplace bullying, abuse or discrimination. Leaders and managers should curb their own language and comply privately and publicly. Employees, even high-performing ones, who repeatedly disregard such requirements and undermine the trust and morale of workplace environments must go openly.

Email Tips: Delegating to Another’s Employee

July 15, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Here are six guidelines to delegate work to an employee who does not directly report to you. These guidelines are applicable even when you delegate to one of your employees’ employees.

When requesting a routine work from an employee, copy her boss as a courtesy. Such requests must be components of the employee’s work plan or previously agreed to by her boss.
When delegating special or time-consuming work to an employee, first write to her boss and request for the employee’s time. Do not go around the boss.
Provide all the necessary inputs and describe what you expect, and how and when you expect results. Be specific. Ask for timely updates.
If you have not gotten a response to an earlier delegation email, call or visit the person. Confirm that the employee understands your expectations. Ask for a status update.
Do not “copy up” (copy the boss or, worse, HR) as a means of coercion. Work with the employee directly to resolve problems before elevating your concerns to her boss.
Avoid prolonged debates or arguments over email. Problems are often easier to defuse using a more personal means of interaction. If you have difficulty in saying something via email, pick up the phone or walk up to the other and talk to her.

Four Telltale Signs of an Unhappy Employee

March 30, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

A skilled manager understands how to get work done through her staff under all circumstances. She makes herself available, delegates effectively and provides appropriate feedback. She works hard to sustain an effective work environment in which her staff feels motivated and takes pride in their achievements.

The skilled manager accurately discerns what her employees think and how feel about their work; she also assesses their happiness on the job. She recognizes unhappy employees through these four noticeable behavioral changes over time:

Tardiness: The unhappy employee tends to arrive late, leave early and takes longer breaks. He is often elusive and hard to pin down.
Disdain: The unhappy employee can be grouchy, whining, or may complain excessively. He tends to be oversensitive: he sulks at even the slightest criticism, gets defensive, or accuses supervisors of picking on him.
Indifference: The unhappy employee cannot focus on his responsibilities. Consequently, his work tends to be disorganized and incomprehensible. His workload is a struggle. He fails to update management on a regular basis, rarely has a say in important matters, and resists new assignments.
Aloofness: The unhappy employee is inclined to distance himself physically, socially and emotionally from his coworkers. He is likely to be uncooperative and refuses to accommodate others’ requests.

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Great Manager

Differences between Coaching and Feedback

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Idea for Impact

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Examine Your Motivations

Don’t Rob the Workplace of Trust

Wisdom Comes from Knowing What to Overlook

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The best don’t come cheap

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More on Effective Delegation

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