By giving employees a sense of autonomy, companies can inspire the type of decision-making that increases the willingness with which people do their jobs.
Over the past 30 years, I have had the privilege and honor of holding the positions of Director, Vice President, President, and Chief Operating Officer of multimillion-dollar companies before launching my career as an executive coach, speaker, and author. It was those experiences that first taught me how important it is for organizations to build engagement and retention by supporting leaders to create cultures of accountability.
The more agency we can give employees over their experience at work, the more energized and focused they tend to be for the work at hand. When we give them the freedom to reach their own conclusions about what went well, or what they could do better, we create a culture where employees feel empowered to take ownership over their own actions and decisions.
Our responsibility is simply to give them the space to begin to view accountability in a positive light, and appreciate their potential. In this way, we inspire maximum engagement – not to mention results that last.
As an executive coach, I have developed a framework to help others humanize the way they lead, and tap into vast amounts of untapped potential in their workforce in the process. I called this the framework of the Humanized Leader, and it’s something I detail in my book of the same name. A major part of the framework has to do with communication and, more specifically, delivering feedback in a way that invites – rather than dictates – improvement.
When it comes to employee feedback, “Like Most/Do Differently” has now become my preferred model for teaching others how to offer in-the-moment feedback.
That’s because most people, when prompted, can offer their own retrospective on the effort and the outcome. They will also generally know what missteps have occurred, or be able to note how they may have varied from the norm.
Like Most/Do Differently allows the other person to verbalize their own feedback, rather than immediately being told what they did or didn’t do, and taking away the opportunity they have to draw their own conclusions. Its name comes from the questions we ask during this process.
Here’s how it works:
- In a situation where you want to offer feedback, you ask, “Looking at that outcome, what did you like most about what happened?” Then, you listen with curiosity and an open mind to the answer, not making assumptions, and giving them space to celebrate what went well. Once the other person has finished speaking, don’t refute what you’ve heard, or try to put forward a different perspective. Instead, validate their feelings and experience of what went well.
- Next, ask, “If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?” This gives them the opportunity to offer their point of view, rather than simply being told where they need to improve. This question and their response also opens the door for your feedback. When the individual has completed their retrospective, validate their response.
You may also want to say, “That’s great, and I also see something else that might be done differently. Are you open to hearing my idea?” But only proceed with your feedback once you have received their response in the affirmative.
The reason I like this method – as long as you are being sincere, and completely present in-the-moment – is that it allows the other person the respect to find their own answers, and make decisions about what they will do the next time. It takes positional power out of the equation.
Feedback is traditionally so much about telling others to do something, that it can breed disconnection and disdain, outright fear, or even resentment.
Think about it: When we “tell” someone to do something, it’s something of a shortcut. Why? Because we think we’ve already done our jobs and saved some time, but frankly, when we tell someone something, we run the risk that what we say is received in one ear and out the other. Simply telling someone also creates dependency, because the employee always knows you will provide them with feedback and directions. They don’t have to think for themselves, or be accountable to themselves. Instead, you end up being accountable for them.
The dialogue around Like Most/Do Differently challenges this positional power game, and instead focuses on continuous improvement. It’s about empowering the improvement, rather than regulating it.
What do you think?
Will you try this next time you’re delivering feedback?
Let me know in the comments.
