Criticism has the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed James Neal Jersey , dissolved or reduced, but it is capable only of harm when there is something to be built. --Carl Jung
People won't leave if they're glad you're their boss. They will want to stay with a boss that does what it takes to create a culture that capitalizes on each individual's strength. However, bosses often don't know what they should do to contribute to organizational culture, or even to their small part of the culture. For so long people have tried to diagnose diseases, flaws, and weaknesses Johnny Gaudreau Jersey , but most bosses have had precious little experience studying health. However, knowing more about healthy people enables us to understand resilience and hardiness, the cornerstones required for building something'something like a solid relationship with direct reports. Learning ways to more effectively interact with those that work for you and challenging yourself to discover their strengths are enormous steps toward realizing the goal of being a boss that no one wants to leave.
Develop a GLAD Culture
Without seeing the inherent flaws in their thinking, many bosses worry overmuch about what they say to their direct reports. Certainly sending effective messages is important, but developing relationships with others that are characterized by the GLAD Communication Method is more critical for creating positive working relationships with direct reports.
GLAD is an acronym for the four-step process that enables bosses and direct reports to have routine conversations, difficult discussions Calgary Flames Jersey , and feedback sessions. Bosses who learn and practice this method learn that their modeling this behavior eventually causes others to adopt it too.
? Get to the core of the performance issues.
? Listen to the other first.
? Add your own ideas.
? Develop an action plan.
Get to the Core of the Issue
Getting to the core of the performance issue means focusing the discussion on actions or behaviors, things the person can control and change. If personality issues or decision making capacities are interfering with the person's performance, the problem may be an inability, rather than an unwillingness, to do the job. In that case, the boss needs to consider alternatives either to give the direct report additional help or move to him or her to an area that is better suited for that person's talents and strengths.
When giving feedback Jeff Skinner Jersey , focus on one concern that can be expressed in one sentence. If it won't fit into one sentence, it is more than one discussion. If you try to lump too many things together, the direct report will leave confused and frustrated. Start the discussion with ?The problem is?.? Be sure to express the problem in concrete, observable, descriptive terms, then listen to what they have to say about it.
Listen to The Other First
If you're like most bosses Jack Eichel Jersey , when someone comes to you with a problem, you try to be a responsive boss and jump in to fix things for your direct report. Solving problems is what you're all about, so it comes easily and naturally. Plus, it just feels like the right thing to do, and it saves times. However well intended you might be, you are inadvertently passing up a chance to develop rapport and abilities in the direct report.
Listening first has many advantages. First Buffalo Sabres Jersey , you will show your concern and responsiveness by patiently allowing the other to explain the issue. Second, you will operate from a basis of factual knowledge, not guesswork or probability. Third, you will have more of a chance to understand the whole picture, not just a segment of it.
Listening is the skill that otherwise effective leaders most often need to develop. However, taking the time to listen patiently to others does not always have immediate payoffs. Therefore David Pastrnak Jersey , in an attempt to move project ahead more efficiently, bosses overlook opportunities to hear what their direct reports have to say.
Listening is not the absence of talking; it is the presence of attention. It is not simply hearing; it is comprehension. The art of listening is one of total involvement. It requires participation, action, and effort. It is the glue that holds conversations together and the foundation of understanding. Effective listening skills can be learned; however, like all communication skills, listening requires practice and technique. Active listening techniques can be broken into the following steps:
? Listen to the other before giving your own ideas. Listen to understand Brad Marchand Jersey , not judge.
? Don't interrupt. When people are on a roll, just listen without saying a word.
? Next, summarize what you have heard. Paraphrase the content of what the other has said, and reflect your understanding of the emotion that was conveyed.
? Ask at least two open, clarifying ?How?? ?What?? questions to deepen your understanding and to give you all the pertinent information
Add Your Own Ideas
Listening to the other first doesn't mean the boss should not give direction. On the contrary, the third step Tuukka Rask Jersey , to add your own ideas, is the time to do just that. Ideally the discussion to this point should have implied a course of action for the direct report. If, in spite of the boss's best efforts, that hasn't happened, the third step is the time to give that direction.
Once again, clearly defining the specific behaviors that the direct report should address will help to keep the discussion focused. If the boss disagrees with the employee's assessment of the situation Patrice Bergeron Jersey , if there has been a shift in priorities, or if the two disagree on action steps, this is the time for the boss to express ideas and concerns and to begin a discussion about how to resolve differences.
The direct report needs to have a clear understanding of what the boss expects, those things the employee needs to do more of or less of to improve.