Page 52 - Twenty Four Lessons for Mastering Your New Role

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Look for what’s wrong and
tell them
Criticize without
criticism

A s a new manager, there will be times that you’ll need to criticize
your employees. You’ll dread it at first. But with practice it will
become easier.
Dishing out criticism tests your communication skills. If you do it
right, you can transform it from a negative, stinging message to an
empowering, motivating experience for all involved.
Your tone and word choice drive your success. If you sound
pained or exasperated, you’re already in a hole. Employees will sense
your irritation and cringe in despair. And if you’re too abrupt, your
criticism can come across as hurtful.
Choose words that fairly address the issue at hand. Avoid
“always,” “never” or “worst,” which overstate the case and cause work-
ers to respond defensively.
Also avoid the verbs “is,” “was,” “has” and “are.” These words
assign blame—and they equate a person with a faulty characteristic.
Example: Replace “Jack is lazy” with “Jack needs to make more calls
during the workday.” Words work against you when they lead to gen-
eralizations or value judgments that grossly exaggerate a perform-
ance problem.
Yet words work for you when they describe observable behavior
and paint visual pictures of the employee’s actions. By saying what
you see, your criticism is rooted in solid evidence. And you make it
harder for the worker to argue or debate with you.

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