Play to Your Strengths

Jeff - a manager in a high tech firm, looks disgruntled. He's just received his first 360° feedbackreport where his boss, peers, and direct reports have rated his leadershipskills. As Jeff reviews the comments hedoes exactly what most managers do:

Jeff focuses on his low scores. After scanning the feedback report, Jeff immediately turns to the negative scores. Positive scores are ignored and negativescores become the focal point of his attention.

He wonders who rated him low. Jeff speculates about who gave him low marks and why. He also wonders if conversations withspecific individuals will be strained in the future.

He feels unsure about what to donext. Jeff understands the report but doesn'tknow how the scores apply to his work situation. He is unsure about what actions to take.

Jeffexperiences these problems because the 360° feedback process is anonymous andcommunicating directly with employees about the data is awkward. Also, feedback data can be difficult totranslate into work-related actions, and ongoing support needed for newbehaviors is missing.

StrengthFeedback

Giving honestfeedback is volatile territory - especially to a boss. In their book, "Driving Fear Out of theWorkplace," authors Ryan and Oestreich, found that 70% of employees wereafraid to speak up because they feared repercussion. To overcome these difficulties, managementconsultant Faith Ralston, Ph.D., has developed an Strength Feedback Process that can be used in conjunction with360° instruments or as a stand-alone leadership development activity. Theprinciple behind this approach is that performance data needs to be discussed directly with the person receiving thefeedback.

Benefits of Strength feedback

Specificbenefits of the Strength Feedback Processfor managers and employees is that it:

1. Opens upcommunication and dialogue

Most employees,and even bosses, are hesitant to talk freely about what they want from theirmanager. However, during the Strength Feedback Process employeesdiscover they can talk candidly about sensitive issues without fear ofretribution.

2. Identifies "actionablechanges" relevant to work

The Strength Feedback Process focuses on actionable behaviors relevant to currentactivities. For examples, instead of amanager learning she has poor listening skills, she learns specifically whereshe needs to listen more and what behaviors are required. Many of the suggestions can be implementedimmediately.

3. Motivates ongoing support for the individual

Afterparticipating in the Strength FeedbackProcess, employees, peers, and bosses have a renewed commitment to themanager's success. Ongoing conversationsand encouragement of new leadership skills are a natural extension of theprocess.

How It Works

The Strength Feedback Process involves threetypes of participants: a) the staff of the manager; b) themanager's boss and peers; and c) otherdepartment heads and internal customers (optional). The manager selects the individuals who thenparticipate in group or individual feedback meetings.

Beforecontributing their feedback, participants complete an assignment that consistsof the following questions:

• What are the manager's greatest strengths?

• What does the manager do better than anyoneelse?

• What examples can you give to illustrate this?

• What are the manager's weaknesses?

• What examples can you give to illustrate this?

• What suggestions can you recommend?

Strength Feedback Session

Next,participants attend an Strength FeedbackMeeting. At the start of thismeeting, ground rules for participation are discussed and the manager statesspecific areas he or she wants feedback on. The manager then leaves the room. The consultant works with theparticipants to prepare the manager's feedback data, generate examples, andidentify a list of ideas the manager can implement.

A fundamentalpremise of the Strength Feedbackdiscussion is that "our greatest strength is also our greatestweakness." Lots of time is spentdiscussing the manager's strengths and finding ways to optimize strengths andminimize corresponding weaknesses.

Once thefeedback is ready, the manager returns and the facilitator encourages informalsharing of this information. During thisdiscussion, the manager takes notes but refrains from any direct involvement in the conversation. Essentially, the manager has the rareopportunity of listening to others talk about him or her. Once the discussion is complete, the managershares reactions to the data, asks further questions, and identifies the actionsteps to take.

Managers' reactions

The followingare typical comments from managers who have participated in this process:

"I was surprised how muchothers knew about me."

"I felt supported as Ilistened to the discussion."

"It was extremely helpful tohear other's candid opinions."

"I learned somespecific ideas I can implement tomorrow."

The purpose of the StrengthFeedback Process is to help managers expand their leadership abilities. At the heart of this process are candor,encouragement, and practical ideas to help leaders succeed.

Topics

• Coaching Skills