Few people have impacted the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard. A prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, Dr. Blanchard is universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate individuals in business today.
When Ken speaks, he speaks from the heart with warmth and humor. His unique gift is to speak to an audience and communicate with each person as if they were alone and talking one on one. He is a polished storyteller with a knack for making the seemingly complex easy to understand.
From his phenomenal best-selling book, The One Minute Manager®, coauthored with Spencer Johnson, which has sold more than 12 million copies and remains on best-seller lists, to the library of books coauthored with Sheldon Bowles, Raving Fans®, Gung Ho!®, Big Bucks!, and High Five!, Ken’s impact as a writer is far reaching.
He wrote his latest book, Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations, with the founding associates and consulting partners of The Ken Blanchard Companies. This definitive "Blanchard on Leadership" combines more than 25 years of breakthrough leadership insights in one extraordinary book.
Ken is Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, founded in 1979 in San Diego, California. He is also a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees. Ken is cofounder of The Center for FaithWalk Leadership, which is dedicated to helping leaders walk their talk in the marketplace.
Ken has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the fields of management, leadership and speaking. The National Speakers Association awarded him its highest honor, the "Council of Peers Award of Excellence." He was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training magazine and Lakewood Conferences, and he received the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. And in 2004 Ken was awarded with The Thought Leadership Award for continued support of work-related learning and performance by ISA—The Association of Learning Providers.
http://www.kenblanchard.com
Feedback is a valuable gift,
but unless it is delivered properly,
it may not be appreciated.
Delivering Feedback
Feedback on performance is essential for improving performance. The way feedback is delivered, however, can have a tremendous effect on its receptivity. Here are some thoughts on giving and receiving feedback that might be helpful to you.
but unless it is delivered properly,
it may not be appreciated.
Delivering Feedback
Feedback on performance is essential for improving performance. The way feedback is delivered, however, can have a tremendous effect on its receptivity. Here are some thoughts on giving and receiving feedback that might be helpful to you.n Be more concerned about the receiver than yourself. It is important to position your feedback in a way that the other person's "OKness" is not up for grabs. In The One Minute Manager, when Spencer Johnson and I describe the One Minute Reprimand, we suggest you always end a reprimand with a reaffirmation.
Remember that people are OK; it's just their behavior that is sometimes a problem. Without a reaffirmation in a reprimand, people will focus on your style rather than on their own behavior.
The same is true with any type of feedback. When a person has solicited feedback, you need to focus first on maintaining his or her self-esteem and then on your feedback. That does not mean you aren't honest. Your tone, however, needs to communicate that you have the person's best interests at heart.
n Be timely and specific. Feedback is only helpful to people if they receive it in a timely manner-that is, when they can use it. You also need to be specific because feedback doesn't help unless it is direct and to the point.
n Direct feedback toward something that is changeable. Make sure feedback is directed to something that can be changed by the person. Feedback that people can't do anything about is not only pointless but also frustrating.
n Be nonevaluative. If you can give feedback in a nonjudgmental way, it makes it easier to hear. For example, if you tell somebody, "If you don't do this, you will never accomplish your goal," you are making a judgment. If you can say, "Here are some suggestions. Please use the ones that are most helpful," the message is not as judgmental.
While a sense of judgment should be monitored on feedback, it is OK to share your feelings, e.g., "It excited me when I read . . ." "I was disappointed when I heard . . ." or "I became confused when the following happened . . ." Feelings are valuable; they are neither right nor wrong.
What's the best way to receive feedback? It's important to separate hearing the feedback from the decision to do anything about it. When I get feedback, my first effort is to hear it and take it in. Once I understand what is being said, I can then decide whether I want to do anything about it.
The reason a lot of people get defensive with feedback is they don't distinguish feedback from action. While they listen to the feedback, they react to the demand for action that your feedback implies.
For example, I was walking through a shopping mall behind a woman and her son. When we passed a sporting goods store with a beautiful red bike in front, the youngster said, "Boy, would I like that!"
His mother immediately went berserk. She started yelling at him: "You're the most selfish kid I have ever known! I just got you a new bike for Christmas, and now it's only March and you want another one. I wouldn't get you a new bike if my life depended on it!"
Her son was looking for a place to hide. I felt sad for the woman because if she had known the difference between hearing feedback and deciding if you will do anything about it, she could have listened to her son and received some good ideas for his birthday.
If she had said, "What in particular do you like about that bike?" her son might have said, "The streamers coming out of the handlebars." That would have been an inexpensive gift. He might have said he "liked the bigger seat than the one he had." Another good gift idea. She could have gotten wonderful information from her son if she had only realized that what he said was not a demand for action but rather information that she could use, if she chose to.
One final thought. When you do get overly negative feedback, rise above the tone and style of presentation, and recognize that your OKness is not up for grabs. This will help you gather some helpful information from the feedback, even though your initial reaction might be defensive and make you lose interest in the feedback. It is hard for all of us to do this, but remember that feedback is a gift-always welcome it!
© Blanchard Management Report, Blanchard Training and Development Inc.