The Metiss Group's Blog

Too often when we have a direct report come to us with a problem, we speak using statements when questions are often a much better choice.

When a direct report comes to you with an issue, solving it for them makes you the choke point for future problems and does little if anything to develop your direct report. Asking questions exercises their brain for growth and development while conveying confidence in their ability to solve the problem or issue at hand.  It gives you the opportunity to consider some options you may not have previously considered and in the long run should save you from future interruptions as their problem solving ability increases.

So, the next time a direct report brings a situation to you, try questions like these:

• What have you done up to this point?
• What has worked?
• What has not worked?
• What else have you considered?  Why?
• Have you consulted anyone else about this?  What were their suggestions, or from whom might you be able to seek advise (aside from me)?
• What’s the worse thing that could happen?  What can you do if that does happen?  What preventative measures could be implemented?

Of course, some problems deserve to be escaladed to you, but developing the problem solving skills of others assures that great minds can work together when the problem is that significant.

Empower your employees by asking questions and communicating confidence in their ability to solve the problem.

Behaviors are observable actions we all demonstrate.  Some behaviors are more productive than others.  All behaviors leave those observing the behavior with an impression of us.  When providing feedback to your direct reports, site their behavior not your interpretation of the action.

Some examples:

• Instead of “You are rude and inconsiderate,” say “I feel that when you rolled your eyes and interrupted Tim during our meeting, you appear rude and inconsiderate.”
• Instead of “You need to be a better team player,” say “I’m concerned that when you said ‘we worked hard on that report’ though everyone but you stayed late to work on it, you give the impression of not being a team player.”
• Instead of “Your clothes are unprofessional,” say “I’m afraid that when you wore that top that revealed your under garment, you looked unprofessional.”
• Instead of “You don’t care about your job,” say “I’m concerned that when you showed up late for three meetings last week, you gave the impression you don’t care about your job.”
• Instead of “You did a good job yesterday,” say “You did a good job preparing the summary report for our team meeting yesterday.”

Keeping feedback focused on the behavior not interpretations will make your feedback conversations more objective and less argumentative.

So you are ready to put a personal development plan together for the year and you may have some great ideas you want to do for yourself, but how do you know what your direct reports need or want from you?

360 degree feedback is an ideal way to gather the information if the tool and the process used are well constructed.  Surveys using Lickert scales (i.e. “on a scale of 1-5,”) may be easy to find but may not yield the clarity and accuracy of results you desire.  Challenges include the ease of gaming an answer, the scores usually reflect very recent observations or impressions — not behavior traits demonstrated over long periods of time, rater bias (my 4 may not mean the same thing as your 4, or I may never give a 1 or a 5, you may never give below a 3), and more.

Surveys using comparative statements eliminate those challenges, but they are a little more difficult to find, tend to require a little more financial and time investment, and may yield results that are difficult to swallow. 360 leadership tools that use a semi-ipsative format challenge respondents to choose and rank their behavioral and motivational observations.  This unique approach limits common forms of respondent bias, such as attempting to skew the results in a particular direction or making the same range of choices for all questions. The result is a more accurate and honest assessment.

The good news is, once you have the feedback, understanding your development needs from the perspective of your direct reports can make creating and implementing your development plan a lot easier, and very meaningful.

Empower your direct reports by including their needs in your development plan to create an environment for success.