Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Criticism vs. Expectations




Everyone makes mistakes. The question is what does a manager do to help an employee to understand their error without making them defensive and unreceptive to future guidance.  Dale Carnegie writes in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" that a manager should never criticize.  I  agree wholeheartedly.  As an alternative to criticism use this example to talk with your employees.

MGR: Joan thank you for the customer service report.  It includes many of the key points we discussed. Another key measure is our abandonment rate as it let's us know how many of our customers are frustrated with our service.  It is my expectation that this measurement be included in all future reports and if you have time I would like to have it incorporated in this one as well.

I've always used this model to critique work.  I think of it as: 1. what you've done well, 2. what can be done better and 3. a chance to make amends.

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