The Feedback Model - Optional Upgrade!

Mark/Mike Thank you for this

Mark/Mike

Thank you for this podcast, very powerful small change.

One thing though - I don't get the "pledge of allegience" reference. I guess it's an american thing. Would someone mind explaining it to me please?

Thanks

josm

As schoolchildren, we Americans recite

As schoolchildren, we Americans recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It's a short statement. We recite it every day for years. It's burned into our memory and any of us could recite it without hesitation.

Think of it as a metaphor for something that is as natural as walking or breathing.

John

In America, children start their school

In America, children start their school day by standing up, facing the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This is done from the first day of kindergarten all the way up through high school -- every single school day -- so by the time you get out of school you know it by heart. I've been out of school for twenty years now and I can recite it in my sleep.

Even though I'm a Brit, I knew what the

Even though I'm a Brit, I knew what the Pledge of Allegiance was, but I had to look-up the Abbott & Costello 3rd Base reference in order to understand it.

Divided by a common language, as George Bernard Shaw would have it.

Mark

Mike/Mark, I see one additional

Mike/Mark,

I see one additional caveat to this upgrade: If you apply this to the "bottom third" of your team, you should be _extremely_ cautious not to make it sound like a rhetorical question. People might get it as "can you? no, of course we both know you cannot, so it's just another mark I'll make behind your name, and by the end of the year you'll be history". Instead, you should make it as much a thing about trust as you do for your top performers: After all, you still believe they can come up with something better.

That's probably why this should only be tried by professional stuntmen.

Mark- Well done! I thought I could

Mark-

Well done! I thought I could have made the writing of the beginning - the who and what bit - a little stronger, but even then that wouldn't have helped those who don't think of it as more than just the kind of humor that makes it into the Hall of Fame.

;-)

Mark

You recommend listening to the original

You recommend listening to the original Feedback casts, but they are no longer available on iTunes. I cannot get this website to let me download the mp3 file, it will only play on my computer. It's not possible to listen at work and I can't listen on my iPod. Do you have any suggestions?

mlowen, if you "right-click" on the m3

mlowen, if you "right-click" on the m3 link and select "save as ...", you should be able to download the file to your computer. Alternatively, if you are a registered-member (free), you can subscribe to a members-only feed in iTunes that has ALL the podcasts (the entire list of weeklys AND the monthly membes-only podcasts). Once you sign-up ("Register" link at top right corner of screen), you can find instructions on adding the feed to iTunes here: http://www.manager-tools.com/category/members/

best regards,
Mike

Mark, Mike, Very valuable material,

Mark, Mike,

Very valuable material, as usually. Both the regular feedback and this variant.
I actually have 3 questions remaining on this topic:

1) Maybe a non-issue, but : what to do if people already start suggesting changes for the future before I can ask the "what could you do different?" question. Obviously, not too bad in itself, but often it is rather vague, or it is (according to me) not the correct reply. Any advice?

2) What I find happening to myself quite often still, are feelings of irritation or frustration when working with people and giving feedback. Especially when I am in a hurry (then today's podcast seems like a good approach), or when I have the feeling things are not progressing fast enough (my people are based in the hot job market environment of Bangalore - and usually go to other companies by the time they develop). The first advice I guess is self-discipline, controling my emotions and care for my people - but hey, I am only human. Any additional advice?

3) And talking about feedback - you once suggested it yourself - what about positive feedback - reinforcing the good behavior. Can you have a podcast once on how to increase the frequency of positive feedback?

Best regards,
Luc

Mark, Mike, I did not really

Mark, Mike,

I did not really undestand this cast the first time I listened to it, because for me the diffence was not clear (translation issue, I think).
I re-listened to it just after I had listened to the "shot accross the bow" cast.
It clicked this time.

I realised it is in the same spirit as something I have recently observed. With some of my directs, I don't need any more to go through the last step : "asking to change the behaviour". Just giving the feedback and explaining the consequences is enough ... They know they have to do something about it.

With some people, the fourth step seems even to be counterproductive : they prefer to say "I'll think about it" BEFORE I ask them to do something.

The beauty of it is I can then give them positive feedback abou the fact they have changed their behaviour alone !

I was wondering if this is something you observed too ?

Regards,

Cédric.