Page 139 - Becoming a Successful Manager

130 ESTABLISHING A SOLID DEPARTMENTAL FOUNDATION

manager provides feedback with the attitude of “These are gifts
for people I regard highly as an aid in their development” and
assumes his or her employees are grateful, you can be certain
that those views and assumptions will prove to be a self-fulfi lling
prophecy. But, being a positive prophecy, the “gifts” would be
properly wrapped, sensitively presented, and, therefore, gratefully
received.
Adverse judgments, on the other hand, are statements that
chastise and, either intentionally or unintentionally, make the per-
son being judged feel bad and prompt defensiveness. Typically,
adverse judgments begin with “you” and are followed by negative
comments.
This is what an adverse judgment would sound like: “You
didn’t fulfi ll your promise to me. How could you be so irresponsi-
ble? You really let me down by not doing what you were supposed
to when you were supposed to do it.”
As a professional manager, you must convince yourself that

warranted criticism can benefit your employees. You must believe
that your employees trust you to give them gifts of criticism. They
trust you because deep within, they know your intentions are
honorable. You must also assume that when you fail to criticize
employees when it is warranted, you are inadvertently sabotaging
them. Finally, you must be less concerned with your feelings about
criticizing than in doing the right thing in the right way for the
sake of your employees.

How to Present Your Gifts Properly

Intended to be helpful and solve problems, criticism should accom-
plish three objectives: