Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. – Buddha
While watching the Waratahs at the Super 15 semi-final on Saturday, I started crowd watching once it became clear we weren’t going to be playing in the final. I always find it a source of amusement and twisted irony as we all sit there in the stands, symbolically positioned high up above the players and armed with our beers and hot chips, while we feel free to shout out whatever we want at the professionals below us. Some of the content of the shouts are well intended advice from the amateurs amongst us, or some is just sheer obscenity. Either way, if the players were to hear, I’m not sure which end of the spectrum they would consider to be motivating.
Let’s face it. These players work at their craft day in and day out. They’re obsessed and focused. They’re not out there to do a bad job.
You could transfer this train of thought to the work place too. Very rarely is someone out to do a bad job with their work. Sometimes our commentary, or feedback, can be more damaging or irrelevant than intended, a lot of the time due to a lack of thinking it through.
Inflection points that make a dramatic difference
To give and receive meaningful feedback, there is often a better time and place to consider. As leaders, this is an inflection point that can make a dramatic difference to the performance of your team.
When giving feedback, as a start, have purpose, objectivity, relevance and positive intent around your opinions.
When receiving feedback, why not take on board some of the wonderful growth attitude of athletes – from my experience in coaching around mindset with the Warringah Rats, it’s a given for them to proactively ask how they can do better, and what they can work on to improve and deliver at those critical moments that count.
Interestingly, the longer an athlete has been in the sport, the more they tend to ask. Whereas at work, the longer we’ve been in a role, the less we tend to ask.
Why not create the environment to give and receive more constructive commentary, and let’s make sure we’re not just shouting down from the stands with our beer and hot chips!