It can be tough to give tough feedback. The challenge is to do so in a way that motivates change without making the other person feel defensive. There are several common pitfalls in offering negative feedback: using the opportunity to blow off steam instead of to coach, surrounding negative feedback with so much positive feedback that it goes unnoticed, or simply avoiding and delaying because we anticipate the employee will become argumentative.
 
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, management professor and executive coach Monique Valcour notes that powerful, high-impact feedback conversations share the following elements:
 

1. An intention to help the employee grow, rather than prove how wrong the person was. The feedback should increase, not diminish, the employee’s motivation and resources for change.
   
   
2. Openness on the part of the feedback giver, which is essential to creating a positive connection. “If you start off feeling uncomfortable and self-protective, your employee will match that energy, and you’ll each leave the conversation frustrated with the other person.”
   
   
3. Inviting the employee into the problem-solving process by asking questions such as: What ideas do you have? What will you take from this conversation? What are some possible next steps? What might I do to help?
   
   

A single conversation can switch an employee on — or shut them down. A true leader sees the raw material for success in every individual says Valcour and “creates the conditions to let it shine, even when the challenge is tough.”
 
What was your experience the last time you had to deliver tough feedback? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

The ability to get things done competently and quickly is a key measure of success, but leaders can fall short if their efficient task-focus comes at the expense of a more relationship-based focus. Writing in The Harvard Business Review, executive coach Rebecca Zucker notes, “Things like building relationships, inspiring a team, developing others, and showing empathy can fall by the wayside” if efficient leaders believe these pursuits will slow them down.
 
The irony is that an intense, exclusive focus on efficiency can have a negative impact on organizational climate and make these leaders less effective overall. To combat this, Zucker offers advice for the overly task-focused:

• Solicit feedback: Ask key stakeholders how they think you balance task-focus and people-focus.
• Identify high-value ways to focus on people: For example, have periodic career development conversations with direct reports, or have coffee (live or virtual) with a colleague, getting better acquainted.
• Use self-observation and reflection: Notice when you are rushed and impatient. Discover if you are trying to avoid something or have a fear of slowing down.
• De-bunk your limiting beliefs: Talk to others who are good at balancing task- and people-focus to gain insight into how they do it.
• Practice self-management: Self-awareness can initiate a different approach. You might find yourself pausing to acknowledge a colleague’s effort, or taking time to teach a team member something new.

 
How do you balance task-focus and people-focus? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. 

Rude and divisive workers can contaminate an organization’s culture—their disagreeable nature spreading like a virus. They sap productivity and sow discontent. Best to avoid hiring them in the first place, but how?
 
Writing In The Harvard Business Review, Christine Porath, a professor of management at Georgetown University and author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace, offers this guidance:
 

• Interview for civility: Use structured, behavioral interviews. Ask candidates the same questions in the same order, including: What would your former employer and people who reported to you say about you?; What are some signals that you are under stress?; When have you failed?; What would you like to improve about yourself? Notice if they take responsibility or are quick to assign blame.
• Get your team involved: Have them take the candidate to lunch or dinner and give the candidate a chance to observe the team’s values and rapport. When teams are mostly remote, this can be a virtual event.
• Ask their references about civility: What was it like working with them; How did people who reported to them feel about them?; How did they react to authority?; Would you rehire them? And don't just stick to the reference list; talk to your own network as well.
• Check your own civility: Put your own best foot forward. It’s hard to expect someone to be civil if you’re not modeling the same behavior.

Have you ever hired a toxic employee, and how do you think you might have discerned their character ahead of time? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

While many companies have returned to onsite offices, others plan to have their employees remain remote for the foreseeable future. But shifting workplace dynamics during the pandemic have led many leaders to question what employee engagement looks like here and now.
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Writing in Inc., Marcel Schwantes, founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership From the Core, says one fact remains constant: Employee engagement is about establishing a goal and a purpose for those you lead. “It's almost impossible to keep employees dedicated to their work without a larger purpose.” Schwantes asked four leaders how they do this:

• Jason VandeBoom, CEO of ActiveCampaign, says leaders must rally employees around a purpose beyond just money. His company puts customers front and center for employees. “A focus on customers, or the clients a company is helping, can bring employees outside of themselves. "
• Social goals "unite us and give us purpose," says Babak Varjavandi, CEO of Nakisa, a global technology company. He says social goals such as diversity, teamwork, and collaboration can go a long way in inspiring employee success. “They make it easy for employees to associate their work with the larger good and personal development.”
• Keith Kitani, CEO of change communications platform GuideSpark, says, "During a time that is bursting with uncertainty, leaders have to tap into their true emotions and lead with authenticity." He says leaders should connect emotionally with employees and highlight the "why" around the goals and purpose of the organization.
• Heather Kelly, CEO of public relations firm SSPR, advises taking time during all-company meetings to give shout-outs and real-time feedback to allow employees to feel support from everyone in the organization, especially from the executive leadership team. By making a team-oriented environment the priority of an organization, everyone feels empowered and encouraged in their role.

 
How are you keeping your employees engaged during these times? To join the conversation, click "comments"