Tag Archive - giving constructive feedback

Managing By Walking Around

June 22, 2010 in Business, History, Leadership with 10 Comments

George Patton 247x300 Managing By Walking AroundAs commander of the Third Army, General George S. Patton was known for getting the job done. General Patton succeeded because he was a realist who understood what was going on in the trenches. He always took into consideration the big picture and assessed what needed to get done…and then did it without any delay or excuses. More than anything, he hated orders that didn’t make sense or put his men in harm’s way. If the orders were outrageous, he would tweak them just enough so that the troops could still achieve success.

General Patton wanted no part of bad strategy. When he was told to stand by and not advance, he sharpen and polish his troops by sending out small battle groups to keep the enemy guessing and on their toes.

When it comes down to being successful in business, a leader should make sure his or her “troops” have what they need to execute the grand plan, or that plan can quickly become a disaster. Whether you are selling automobiles to customers in a retail setting or delivering parts to an oil rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, how well you perform the task will indicate your level of success. On the flip side, great plans are ruined when the execution suffers. Bottom line…grandiose strategy plans won’t sell more cars, but solid customer service will. Listen to your customers, as for they are always telling you a story on how to keep them satisfied.

With that said, all of this reminds me of something Tom Peters wrote in A Passion for Excellence. In this book, he states that “Customers love being appreciated and hate supervisors who pull the disappearing act.” Heck, who doesn’t for that matter? Peters also stated, “Bad leaders are invisible, while good leaders demonstrate MBWA,” an acronym that he coined which means: “Managing By Walking Around.”

If you want to be informed about your company and provide useful direction to employees and managers, you need to get out of your office and change your focus from analyzing yesterday’s trends to witnessing the daily operation of your organization. By asking questions in the face of the day-to-day operations, you will get answers to problems you didn’t even know existed. By listening to other people within your team, you can give real input into the processes of your organization. By talking to customers, you’ll know if the business is hitting its target or just missing. Talking to a customer is much more valuable than looking at the results or marketing surveys.

So, the next time you want information…take a walk. Good things are sure to happen!

It’s Not Hard To Judge

May 16, 2010 in Business, Leadership with 15 Comments

Contructive Criticism 300x168 Its Not Hard To JudgeIt’s hard for us not to be judgmental, and very rarely will anybody succeed in avoiding it completely. However, most rash judgments are wrong. If you think about the last time you heard somebody talking about a person that you know, while very well knowing that what you are hearing was either misinterpreted or just wrong.

I recently read a report that was written by psychologists Arnold and Clifford Lazarus. Based on their studies, they noticed that when somebody starts being judgmental, it’s probably best to walk away from the conversation. If you can legitimately come to somebody’s defense, then it’s certainly a goof thing to do. But, when people are judgmental, it’s very unlikely that they are willing to listen to anybody anyway… so you then need to realize that you’re probably wasting your breath.

If an organized discussion devolves into a judgmental talk, whether it’s about somebody in particular, another organization or another organization’s product or service… it is your obligation to redirect the discussion because the conversation is just simply wasting everybody’s time.

Now, on the other hand, there are times when discussing the qualities and values of another organization’s product(s) or service(s) is important. But the discussion needs to stick to the facts– such as how their product s and services have impacted the industry and it’s customers, employees, and/or investors. Things such as “the color of the competitor’s product, how simple it is to maintain, and how it’s value is important” are all ways that can be used to be critical and constructive, so that choosing one of the above mentioned gives you the ability to make an informed decision.

We’ve all been in similar situations where it’s easy to judge. I’m curious to know how you handle these situations. What works best for you?

A Recent Feedback Lesson

October 12, 2009 in Leadership with 6 Comments

group discussion thumb4476421 A Recent Feedback Lesson

As part of a workshop, fifteen people who regularly observe my work were asked to give an assessment of how I was doing.  After receiving both quantitative data and some verbatim comments on my strengths and areas of improvement, this is what I found:

It is hard to get good feedback.  The default position in our cultures is: fear.  Fear of honest feedback and probably even more fear of giving it.  Fear of retribution.  Fear of hurting someone’s feelings.  Face it; authorities didn’t used to ask for feedback.  Parents didn’t want to hear it.  Siblings sure as heck didn’t.  Teachers hardly did.  There just aren’t a lot of people who model seeking and giving constructive feedback.  So, in our normal lives at work, people who could be helping us understand how to help them be more effective, and how to lead in ways that work, just don’t tell us.