Here is an article written by Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch, the CBS Interactive Business Network. To check out an abundance of valuable resources and obtain a free subscription to one or more of the website’s newsletters, please click here.
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One of the hardest parts of being an effective manager is communicating criticism to your employees. If you’re too harsh, they’ll react emotionally and won’t hear you. If you’re too vague, they won’t hear the message.
The first thing you want to do before critiquing someone or their work is to ask yourself if it’s really necessary. “Determine if what you feel you need to say or do really warrants a correction. Are your employees just doing things differently and achieving the same, or even better, results?” suggests Roy Cohen, career coach and author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide.
If the criticism is justified, use these 5 tips for getting your point across:
[Actually, here are the first two.]
• Let them own the mistake: If you’re a generally nice guy or gal, it might be your inclination to coat criticism in compliments. But if you’re dealing with a defensive person, this might not be an effective strategy. “Don’t rescue them. Let them work through that emotion until they own their mistake,” says Elizabeth Lions, author of Recession Proof Yourself!
• Know how they handle criticism: Again, different personalities need different approaches. If you have a super-sensitive soul on your staff, proceed accordingly when offering criticism. “Know who they are on the team and tread lightly when giving direct feedback as they will take it to heart, which may make them feel guilt and demotivate them. Fewer words are better with this individual,” says Lions.
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Amy Levin-Epstein is a freelance writer who has been published in dozens of magazines (including Glamour, Self and Redbook), websites (including AOLHealth.com, Babble.com and Details.com) and newspapers (including The New York Post and the Boston Globe). To read more of her writing, visit AmyLevinEpstein.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MWOnTheJob.
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