Page 140 - Becoming a Successful Manager

Giving the Gift of Constructive Criticism 131

1. Help the receiver become aware of what you see and why
it’s a problem
2. Show the receiver what changes will alleviate the problem
3. Increase the likelihood that the behavior won’t recur

To achieve those objectives, you need the cooperation of the other
party. You will likely gain employees’ cooperation if you treat them
as friends and if you follow certain guidelines.
First, make sure your criticism identifies the specifi c problem

that concerns you. For example, suppose an employee submits a
report to you that’s riddled with spelling errors. Your criticism
might be, “It bothers me to receive a report that’s fi lled with
spelling mistakes.” Or suppose an employee is demanding of the
department secretary. You might say, “I believe in treating every
member of the department with respect. That’s why it bothers me
when you make demands of our secretary.”
Second, make sure you tell the employee what specifi cally
you want that would resolve your problem. Concerning the error-
fi lled report, you could say, “Your reports would look more profes-
sional if you used the spell check that’s available to you” or “Before
handing in a report to me, please make sure there are no spelling
errors.” In the example of the demanding employee, you could say,
“When making a request of our secretary, ask for what you need,
rather than tell her, in a demanding voice, what you want. As my
grandmother used to say, ‘You can catch more fl ies with honey
than with vinegar.’”
Third, make sure you agree on how to prevent the problem

from recurring. (This guideline is flexible and may not always be
applicable.) For example, “Could we agree that you will proofread
your reports before you give them to me?” or “Could we agree that
any expenditure above x dollars will be checked with me?”