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Insync Articles: 1.A Good Boss Always Gives Critical Feedback
Insync Articles: 1.A Good Boss Always Gives Critical Feedback
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A bad boss, on the other hand will ignore your warnings, term you as difficult and with a
negative attitude, and even give you the cold shoulder but when a problem occurs he can
readily shift the blame on to you.
Good managers also like to hear about problems and answers to them from their
subordinates. They appreciate it if you can give a comparative analysis of the different
solutions.
Such bosses prefer to arrive at solutions after brainstorming rather than take individual
decisions and also the sole credit for them. A bad boss, on the other hand when offered
solutions could accuse you of giving him no room to think. Consequently his team will think
twice before presenting ideas or solutions to him.
A good boss is more than somebody whose personality matches with yours. He is honest in
his interactions, communicates his expectations from the team and appreciates and
recognises their efforts. He also gives regular feedback to help his team improve.
He appreciates the inputs he receives from his team while at the same time helps them with
problems. He stands up for his team especially when interacting with senior management.
He keeps his cool and is friendly and approachable and shares every credit with his team.
A good boss is inclusive in his attitude, does not discriminate among team members and
endeavours to maintain harmony in his team.
He tries to make work fun by bringing in new and exciting ideas
These are some of the parameters to help you judge how good your boss is. You can use your
performance review meeting to discuss his qualities that help you do well in your work and
also his drawbacks, which limits your growth.
If your boss is good, he will react positively to such constructive criticism and change his
management style to help his employees.
A good boss is someone who provides adequate support and at the same time challenges you
to develop new talents.
Consider yourself lucky if you work for such a boss and use the opportunity to learn from
him.
But there are habitual whiners, who think it is their sole prerogative to complain about every
issue and happening in the office. They can point fingers at anything and everybody. These
people spend nearly a third of the day at the office in just nit picking. For them any problem
is serious and needs to be escalated to the top levels. This tendency on the part of the
employee is a habit, more so a compulsive disorder. They cannot stay away from poking
their noses in to affairs that do not concern them.
Such people are shunned by all at the office. They seldom have friends. Managers treat them
as problem creators'.
Here is some advice to constant complainers:
Stay away: One needs to know when to complain and what to complain about. Just
because there is a problem with the fax machine, you need not go to the manager to get the
machine working again. There will be a helpdesk or admin department that will take care of
the problem. Know the size of the problem and its impact on the office working before you
complain to the top boss. You will only be taking up the boss's time and wasting yours if you
meet him just for the sake of the fax machine.
No target: Never target particular people for complaints. They may have their own reasons
for not achieving results. Only if their non-performance affects your work or out put, you
should think of complaining against them. First talk to the person who is hindering your
work See if he has a valid reason and try to give a chance to correct himself. If he continues
to be a problem then you must inform your superiors. Getting along with coworkers when
they are having difficulties will project you as being cooperative.
Avoid this: Talking about salary, comparing with others and complaining about the
management's bias or partiality will make you stand out like a clown in a crowd. You can
become the instant target of the management for being shown the door for creating a toxic
atmosphere. If you have a valid reason to believe that you are being wronged, talk to the
manager. Explain to him how you are performing and the compensation you get in return.
Never make the issue public.
Do not bad mouth your team members with others, even if they have committed mistakes.
Never project them in bad light.
Show solutions: There is no easier task than complaining. But complaining only shows
that you only care about you comfort. When there is problem that concerns all at the
workplace, be bold enough to come up with solutions. Give suggestions; try to help in
diminishing the problem. May be your solutions will not work, but your attitude towards
solving the workplace problems will earn you lot of respect.
Minding your business' must be your concern at the workplace. Impress your team and
boss as a good team player. Become a troubleshooter for your team when it hits a wall' in a
project. Be the voice of the team at meetings when it needs resources or has problems with
deadlines. The manager will take these as genuine complaints.
On the other hand if you are only complaining on trivial non-issues, you will be seen as
someone who projects negativity. So do not make it a habit.
For managers who aim to inspire and motivate others, this ability helps to deal with people
with different attitude and approach. It is useful to avoid conflicts, build team spirit and
mediate between disagreeing parties. It helps to cultivate a better way of thinking.
Try to anticipate potential problems in the team based on what is happening around and
devise ways to tackle them
Ensure that the solutions are realistic
In the way of managing a team, there are some issues that a manager should not address,
especially the one like a small conflict among the team members. Such cases, if taken up by
him can actually worsen the situation. So, he should leave them to time and wait. The team
members will solve the issues themselves. This way the team bonding will also increase.
However the manager should make sure that the situation is not getting worse and be ready
to intervene when necessary.
Then, there are some problems that need not be addressed by the manager directly. A team
leader, a suitable team member, a coach or some other third party can be assigned to handle
it.
Whether a manager handles the problems in his team directly or indirectly or even
addresses them at all, each of the problem should be given due consideration to assess its
potential.
A manager cannot deal with every employee and every problem directly. But he should at
least keep himself informed about everything happening around him, be it about the status
of the project or the issues bothering the employees. He should be smart enough to be able
to judge where his intervention is required and to handle the issue appropriately.
criticising others, you lose respect and end up showing up that you are immature and
unprofessional.
To extract positive results, you have to communicate criticism in a way that the other person
can use the information to his advantage and benefit. For this you have to communicate you
message keeping in mind some point.
The following is some guidance:
Ensure that the timing is right. Ascertain that the receiver is emotionally fit to take the
criticism with the force you intend to give it to him. Also, keep in mind the principle- Praise
in public, criticise in private.
Do not hammer your subjects with the same message, delivered in same words, tone and
spirit. How many times have you heard yourself saying, how many times will you say that?
when your boss repeats his favourite slogan!
Ask yourself if your subject really has all the control to give you're the results. When the
receiver is not adequately skilled or has no access to the necessary resources, how can he
meet your expectations? Your feedback and motivational words can provide confidence and
cause the person to act. But if this lacks the core requirements to generate the output, both
of you will only end up wasting time and efforts.
Drive your feedback in the right direction. Pinpoint the problematic issues. Do not make
generalised statements about people based on a few observations. Verify if your message is
clear enough to be acted upon. Keep the advice practical. Tell others that they are wrong
without mentioning what exactly is the problem and how it could be corrected is frustrating.
When you criticise someone, be willing to entertain further discussion on it and to provide
the support. In case of feedback to team members, be willing to follow up their progress and
help them overcome the obstacles. Also be open to the possibility that your perception or
opinion is wrong and that the other person is actually right.
Recognise and reward the changes in behaviour the other person has adopted in response to
your feedback.
Criticism is a great tool to modify the behaviour of a person. But based on how it is used, it
yields constructive or destructive results.
To obtain positive results, you have to focus on objective, tune your communication and
deliver it diligently, paying attention to the responses.
Research has shown that the present day stressors for employees are - Having to work
longer hours, having constant appraisals, reviews and more sedentary jobs. Urban living
style though on the face of it does not seem to cause stress, eventually brings it in.
One social scientist says, Work related stress is causing unforeseen consequences such as
infertility among young urban working couples. Urban lifestyles are causing people to
exhaust themselves of all energy. The commute, the driving in traffic and spending time on
extended day activities such as shopping and hours at malls or multiplexes, week after week
causes stress.
These activities in fact demand more of mental and physical energy. The young employees
in their early career days deem these activities to be stress relievers. But soon these very
activities become cause of stress. This results in not being able to stand up to the daily tough
routine at the office. Stress slowly impacts the working of the person and this leads to
several health problems.
Doctors advise that a simple routine should be followed from early career days to avoid
problems as one moves ahead in life.
Stress levels can be controlled by relaxation techniques that bring out the body's relaxation
response. Practicing these techniques will build physical and emotional resilience. Stress
calls for taking charge- taking charge of one's thoughts, emotions and time.
Here are some techniques the doctors say will help:
Relaxation time: Have a set time for rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. This is
your time and let not anyone steal it from you. Never plan other activities during this period.
Do what gives you a sense of joy and happiness. Indulge in it. This will recharge your spirits.
You will become a well-oiled engine each day to meet the rough road ahead.
Let go: Do not treat all problems like earthquake. Give little attention to small problems.
Do not magnify issues and spend time in pondering over them continuously. See if you can
put them off for later. Try to get advice, ask people what they would do in your situation.
Nice company: Spend time with people who are jovial and have positive and problem
solving attitude, rather than people who are always carrying problems on their shoulders.
Give time for family get together and outing on a regular basis.
In a recent survey people felt that the best stress buster was listening to music, second came
regular exercise and the third was reading. Choose what is best for you and use it to help
ease stress.
Humour is a great stress reliever, especially y when one is experiencing emotional stress.
Read jokes or pick up a funny storybook. One executive says reading comics and watching
cartoon channels is his favourite to recharge himself.
Use any of these techniques and ways suggested to keep yourself stress free. People respond
to life situations in a better manner and perform better at work even under pressure when
they know that they can fight out their stress levels.
understand market dynamics and move the business forward will be the main plus points in
his favour.
Once it is established that he is the right man for the organisation, he comes on board. That
is the time when employees, executives and managers have to gear up to meet the
expectations of the new boss in the office.
Even the new boss does his homework well. He has a fairly good picture of the
organisation's financial muscle, the talent pool it has and the direction in which the business
has to move. Armed with this information he will make plans to set in motion the change he
desires to achieve his objectives.
Change comes: The new chief will embark on a process of change in tune with his
business mind. He may change the process or shuffle people in to new positions to
implement his ideas. This change will impact on the organisation and people. This change
has to be viewed in a positive manner by managers and other staff. They must prepare to
understand the necessity of change and what better results can be achieved by adapting to
it.
Having a clear mindset to follow the leader's direction is what is needed in such
circumstances.
Style: Each CEO brings in his own style of working. Some are in a hurry to achieve results.
Some take time to know the organisation's culture and implement their ideas and methods.
When the new boss arrives he will address the staff or send out emails with the proposals he
has in mind. That should give inkling as how fast he wants to implement change.
Be ready: Once the agenda has been planned for the new way of functioning. Get all your
information ready. Get all data necessary that is relevant to your department. Do not fumble
or try to hide figures even if they are not up to the mark when you meet the new boss.
Explain to him the actual situation. If there are bottlenecks tell them frankly to him.
If you hide facts, he may not be able to take a correct decision. Sooner or later the facts will
be ascertained and you may have to take the blame for misinformation. This will project you
as somebody who cannot be trusted. In the first meeting impress him with your grip over
your work. If he asks for suggestions, give those that are practical.
Realign: Once you understand the boss concerns and goals, be prepared to realign your
goals to his. Your objective must be able to make his job easy. He has to show his
competence to the management. Once you get an opportunity to talk to him ask how you
can best provide him support. Present the goals, objectives and work process you have been
working under and if that is sufficient or it needs to be modified. If he assigns new tasks
apart from the ones you already have, be prepared to stretch. Not everybody gets a chance to
impress the new boss.
Each new boss brings in a great deal of experience. Some of them are innovators,
taskmasters and have great knowledge of the particular industry segment. Working with
such a boss can be a rare opportunity.
If he is impressed by your dedication and sincerity he may even mentor you. You have to
learn to understand the new boss, live up to his expectations and show caliber in
performance to move up the ladder yourself.