Posted on April 5, 2011March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

What Political Animal Are You?

Tomorrow and Thursday are days out for us

Well, actually, we’re working. We are at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development annual HR Development Exhibition at Olympia, London.

If you are there too, come and see us on stand 571, and maybe pop to the Learning Arena at 10am on Wednesday and hear ‘How to understand resistance and handle it effectively’, based on the Handling Resistance Pocketbook.

So let’s have some fun

The Workplace Politics Pocketbook has a lovely model, allowing you to chart yourself against Political Intelligence and Organisational Goal Alignment. It is most useful for helping you to spot and work with others, but it lends itself to a quick and easy diagnostic for yourself.

Have some fun and answer the questions, recognising that most of us will be a combination of all four types, behaving differently in different circumstances.

Quick Questionnaire

For each of the six groups, select the one that describes you best.

A: Clever
B: Observant
C: Determined
D: Trusting
.
A: Adaptable
B: Swift
C: Sure-footed
D: Loyal
.
A: Vicious
B: Ruthless when necessary
C: Bad Tempered at times
D: Gentle
.
A: Cunning
B: Wise
C: Hard-working
D: Innocent
.
A: Resourceful
B: Silent
C: Noisy
D: Naive
.
A: Sly
B: Aloof
C: Put-upon
D: A follower

Time to count your scores…

Mostly As: You old Fox, you!

Foxes are politically intelligent and use their cleverness for personal gain – they are often known for playing games.
Grrrr

Mostly Bs: What a wise Owl you are

Owls understand the politics and use their wisdom to work for the benefit of the organisation.
Tuwooo

Mostly Cs: You’ve grown up to be a Mule

Mules are determined to get what they want, and will ignore the established politics of the organisation.
Hehawww

Mostly Ds: You’re a trusting Sheep

Sheep are suspicious of politics and only want everything to work out well for all concerned.
Baaa

This may be a bit of fun, but it has a serious side

Workplace politics trips many of us up, so understanding how to read the signals and play the game is important, and David Bancroft-Turner’s Workplace Politics Pocketbook is an excellent guide for the novice, with some great tips and hints for seasoned politicians too.

It is filled with skills to develop and a proper analysis of our four feathery/furry/hairy/woolly friends. Apologies to David for simplifying his ideas for fun!

This – and all of the Management Pocketbooks Titles are available at special show prices during the CIPD HRD Exhibition. You can get £1 off any book and if you buy five, you can get a sixth one free – that’s six pocketbooks for £34.95.

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Posted on March 29, 2011March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

Handling Sales Objections

In last week’s Pocketblog, we looked at one way to make a sale. But often it isn’t the selling that defeats us: it’s the objections.

CIPD HRD Exhibition

Resistance gets us every time and this is the topic of the Management Pocketbooks Learning Arena Session at the CIPD HRD Exhibition on 6 April.

At that session, I will be speaking on:

‘How to Understand Resistance and Handle it Effectively’

I will speak at 10am, and then return to the Management Pocketbooks stand (Number 571) to meet readers and answer questions. As well as being the editor and principal author of the Management Pocketblog, I am also the author of the Handling Resistance Pocketbook.

At the stand, you can get all of the Pocketbooks at the special exhibition rate of £1 off, and if you buy five, you can get a sixth one free – that’s six pocketbooks for £34.95.

Resistance to Sales

I will be speaking about resistance to change at HRD, but to follow from last week’s blog, let’s take a look at how my ‘Onion Model of Resistance’ applies to objections to sales.

The Onion Model

The Onion Model sets out the layers of resistance we encounter – whether to our ideas, to change, or to our sales proposals. As an example, here is a video of me talking about the fourth layer of resistance to a sale; when the potential customer says something like:

‘I don’t like your proposal.’

In this short video, I am talking about this level of resistance, and illustrating it with an example.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmEMdscBpR0]

So here’s the deal

Your job, when you encounter resistance, is to engage with it in a positive way. Identify what level the resistance is at, then deal with it appropriately. When you handle resistance effectively, it will often just melt away.

The Handling Resistance Pocketbook

The Handling Resistance Pocketbook covers:

How to understand resistance
The importance of a sound process
Ways to start persuading
The power of language and questioning
Resistance to change
Sales objections
Conflict
The psychology of resistance

My Handling Resistance blog is at HandlingResistance.com

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Posted on December 14, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

In Praise of Slow Management

My friends would say that the Slow Movement is one that I honour more in the breach than the observance; but honour it I do. I like the idea of slow food and of taking more time to do things.

I enjoy taking the time to do things really well, and wish I could be more selective about the things I do, so that I could do less. I first came across the idea seeing a copy of Carl Honoré’s book, ‘In Praise of Slow.’ Typically, I flicked through it, gleaned a few ideas, and moved on. Aarrgh: the irony is not lost on me. It’s on my desk now…

Slow down; take some time

By the way, if you want to take some time to explore this idea, here are my favourite links:

The World Institute of Slowness is taking a thoughtful and serious approach to promoting the slow movement

The witty and wise website of the IINDM; the International Institute of Not Doing Much is not quite so serious!

Slow Planet is Carl Honoré’s website, with thoughtful blogs from a number of authors – take your time over this one!

BBC Radio 4’s wonderful Food Programme, reporting on the ultimate in slow food, and the joys of food from indigenous communities. I just happened to catch this while driving, and really did slow down, to hear it all.

Fast Change often Fails

One of the reasons change fails is nothing to do with getting the design wrong, nor the fact of the inevitable resistance that it faces. After all, if resistance is inevitable (and I strongly believe it is) then it cannot alone account for the failure of some changes while others thrive.

One major reason why change fails is because we try to make the change too fast. Then, impatient for results, we try and make more change when the first fails.

I am not saying that speed in itself is wrong. I am a great believer in making change, calibrating it and then improving, rather than going for perfect first time.

Where we need to slow down is by taking the time to communicate better. Make time for people and they will give you better, faster, results. We improve our management, when we slow it down.

Some examples please, Mike

Here are four situations where taking more time can make things quicker – an approach that the emerging Slow Transport approach (‘slowth’) to urban congestion is promoting. When you slow traffic speeds in a congested environment, journey times paradoxically reduce.

Delegation

Have you ever been frustrated by the lack of progress of a colleague to whom you delegated a job? Did you really take the time to brief them carefully?

Change

We cannot possibly support or participate properly in what we don’t understand. A lack of knowledge exacerbates fear, so in times of change, make time to communicate relentlessly.

Scheduling

Who schedules the work you need, the resources or deliveries your business is dependent upon, or even your own workload? Let’s call this omnipotent being ‘The Scheduling Clerk’. You will want a favour from this person from time to time, so slow down and exchange a few pleasantries whenever you speak with them. They will appreciate it and you will win in the end.

Sales

You want to make that sale. So take the time to listen to your potential customer. The more you can learn from them, the easier your sale will be. If you rush to present your goods or services, you will rarely succeed.

Multi-tasking does not work

There is a body of evidence now that multi-tasking does not work. There are too many people getting stressed at work – so many that we need a National Stress Awareness Day. We talk about an economic slow-down, but all it means is that we all speed up.

So here’s the deal

It’s December now. The long break and New Year are coming up. Maybe it is time to slow down and think about next year. Maybe it’s time to re-think how you manage.

Some Management Pocketbooks you Might Enjoy

When you slow down, you transform not just what you achieve and how you feel, but the way that others perceive you. Cultivate slow in the right areas of your manner, and you will also boost your personal impact, as a bonus. Learn more in The Impact and Presence Pocketbook.

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Posted on October 5, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

Sandwich Anyone?

There are one or two topics that get trainers hot under the collar. My own pet peeve has always been the abuse by so many trainers of Albert Mehrabian’s work. If you don’t know it, it’s the 55% – 38% – 7% ratios for facial, tonal and verbal communication.

I wrote about this for Training Journal in July 2007 but frankly, the best way to learn what Mehrabian really means is to watch the wonderful three and a half minute video by Creativity Works on YouTube.

So with Mehrabian comprehensively dealt with …

The Myth of the Feedback Sandwich

The story goes like this:

If you want to give someone great feedback, first tell them the things they do well, then tell them what they need to do better, and then, to avoid them losing too much confidence; remind them of their successes. Voila: the ‘feedback sandwich’

Picture By SweetOnVeg

The feedback sandwich was a popular staple of management training courses when I was on the receiving end, in the early 1990s. It probably still is.

Round 2: The Feedback Sandwich is rubbish

Most trainers now, rightly, eschew the feedback sandwich. The argument goes like this:

All it is, is sugaring the pill. When you re-iterate the good stuff, they will forget the filling in the middle. It’s easier to focus on the good stuff and, anyway, we always remember the start of something and the end – that’s what I say in my Presentation Skills training.

And that is all very credible – if a little bluntly expressed. I think I remember hearing myself say that once upon a time.

Round 3: Rehabilitating the Sandwich

Let’s think about the psychology of good communication. After all, that is a pre-requisite for good feedback.

Before you can get any complex message across, you have to build a measure of rapport. When you tell me what I have done well, I will probably recognise some of it, feel pleased that you have too, and start to trust you a little bit. I am listening now.

So, when you have told me all the good news, I am listening hard. And, because I trust that you have observed my performance carefully, I will listen to what else you have to say. Don’t squander that: give me an evidence-based assessment of what I need to do differently to raise my performance to a higher level.

That can be quite a draining process, when done well. So I may need some help processing it. So that I don’t feel knocked back and alone, end our conversation by reminding me that, no matter how critical you have had to be about some aspects of my performance, you will continue to support me.

There’s the sandwich. But now, the last component is not sugaring the pill, but forming a base to go forward. The top is a nice tasty bun with seeds. The middle is filling and nutritious. The base is firm and supports the rest. It’s a burger; a feedback burger! *

Picture By SweetOnVeg

So here’s the deal

Don’t cite the 55-38-7 rule without reading my article, watching the video or researching Mehrabian’s work properly and
When you give feedback, pay attention to the stages of your communication process, and the needs of the person you are supporting.

Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy

The Feedback Pocketbook

The Communicator’s Pocketbook

The Developing People Pocketbook

The People Manager’s Pocketbook

The Performance Management Pocketbook

The Appraisals Pocketbook

* Thank you to my friend, Leigh Grainger, for introducing me to the phrase ‘Feedback Burger’.

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Posted on July 27, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

I can’t do that now

The NLP wave rises and falls and, frankly, I’ve lost track of whether it is near a popularity peak or a sceptical slump. Of all the ideas that managers use, this is the one that comes in and out of vogue most often – on a two or three year cycle, it seems to me.

Why does NLP peak and trough so much?

Many practitioners do NLP no great service in making some extravagant claims for what it can achieve, whilst others doggedly push away at the very real benefits of improved communication, processes and insights that an understanding of its models can offer us. The world becomes exhausted by and cynical of the excessive zeal of some trainers, then recovers, as other trainers help build a new cohort of learners who can see real benefits.

Gillian Burn’s NLP Pocketbook is a contribution to ‘real benefits’ end of the spectrum, and has a nice take on one of the most powerful NLP models.

Logical Levels of Change

This model has many uses, so let’s pick one: let’s say that you ask someone to do something. Let’s further assume that your request is reasonable, and that your relationship with them is good, so you have every reason to expect them to comply. So it comes as a surprise when they say:

‘I can’t do that now.’

Handling Resistance

This sounds like resistance, so rule number one is to respect the resister and assume that their reason for resisting is a good one. But what is it. On the face of things, their statement gives you no clues; but if you listened very carefully, they probably told you exactly where the problem is.

Listen Carefully

What you are listening for is where they put the emphasis of their statement. It may be very subtle, but can be remarkably obvious. They may have said any of these statements:

‘I can’t do that now.’
Meaning: ‘there is a problem with the time or place.’

‘I can’t do that now.’
Meaning: ‘I have a problem with what you want me to do’

‘I can’t do that now.’
Meaning: ‘I don’t have the ability to do it’

‘I can’t do that now.’
Meaning: ‘I don’t believe I can do it’

‘I can’t do that now.’
Meaning: ‘this is not something I can do’

Once you know where the problem lies, you can tackle it more confidently.

What else?

Could there be another reason? What if there appears to be no emphasis. The Logical Levels model suggests a sixth possible level, deeper than the five we have seen. If we characterise these five as:

Environment – Action – Capability – Belief – Identity

… the sixth level is Purpose, or meaning.

People need a Purpose

We all need a meaning to our lives and a purpose for doing something. In their mind, they are possibly asking ‘why?’ If you are unable to supply a good reason, then you should not be surprised to encounter resistance. One of the powerful words we looked at in an earlier blog is ‘because.’

Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy

The NLP Pocketbook
is full of easy to follow descriptions and examples from the best tools that NLP has to offer.

NLP, by the way, stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming

.
There is also a chapter on the NLP model of communication in:

The Management Models Pocketbook

So here’s the deal

Listen carefully when people resist you, act on the information you gather: not your assumptions, consider the powerful tools NLP can offer you.

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Posted on July 20, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

The Power of a Single Word

There are some words in our language that seem to have special powers that elevate them above the ordinary day-to-day words. They are a bit like super-heroes and super-villains, in the world of mere humans.

Because

What would encourage you to do someone a favour? Helen Langer, Arthur Blank and Benzion Chanowitz did an experiment asking 120 students if they could jump the queue to use a library photocopier. The experimenter asked in three different ways:

May I use the machine?
Giving no reason
May I use the machine, because I have to make copies?
Giving no real reason
May I use the machine, because I’m in a rush?
Giving a reason

When the request was a small one – with only five sheets to copy – 60% of the students asked obliged without hearing a reason (Request number 1). With a reason (Request Number 3), 94% agreed. And with no real reason (Request number 2), 93% were prepared to oblige. The reason is clearly not important; what was important was that there was a reason – the students heard the word “because” and that was enough.

Why

Why is like one of those super-heroes who can turn super-evil at times.

The Good: Ask the question ‘why?’ about a problem enough times, and then ask why about the answers you get, and then keep repeating. You will almost always find your way to the root cause of the problem. This is the basis of the ‘Five Whys’ method.

The Evil: Ask me ‘why did you do that?’ and you will usually get a defensive answer. ‘Why?’ feels like an attack on our very values that direct our decision making, so we react against the question and rarely give a resourceful answer. A better question might be: ‘what were your criteria when you chose to do that?’

But

‘I like your new suit, but…’ As soon as we hear the ‘but’, our brain thinks ‘aha – here comes the truth.’ We switch off to what we have just heard, making the first half of the statement almost invisible. Better to say ‘and’: ‘I like your new suit, and if I’d have been choosing, I would have preferred a blue one for myself.’

You

Another super-hero/super-villain. When I talk about you and what you want and what I can offer you, you feel like I am giving you all of my attention. ‘You’ has the power to make a reader or listener feel special.

When I use ‘you’ in describing a wrong action or assigning blame, I will trigger your defence mechanisms that start to create conflict. ‘You never do the washing up.’ ‘You make me so angry, when you….’ Better to say ‘I really prefer it when the washing up is done.’ ‘I get angry when I feel I can’t influence…’

So here’s the deal

Pay attention to the words you use – they really do matter.

What other words have super powers?
Contribute yours to the comments section below.

Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy

Impact & Presence Pocketbook

Communicator’s Pocketbook

Influencing Pocketbook

Handling resistance Pocketbook

Tackling Difficult Conversations Pocketbook

Coaching Pocketbook

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Posted on July 6, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

How Good is your Business Card?

If you are self-employed or own your own business, then networking will be one of your most important activities. And just as you would not expect a carpenter to turn up to a job without a full set of chisels, so you will need the tools of your networking craft.

By the way – if you get your business card given to you and cannot influence its design, skip down a bit and enjoy the links to some of the most imaginative business cards you’ll ever see.

A Sharp Business Card

If business cards are to networking what chisels are to carpentry, then what does a sharp business card look like? One way to get a feel for what makes a good or a bad business card is to look at loads. I never throw a business card away, and from time to time, I try to draw some lessons from them.

Five Lessons for Great Business Cards

Keep it simple
Don’t have more than three zones of content. Each zone is a compact block of text or graphics that works together, for example, a logo, or a logo and strap-line may be one block; your contact details may be another.
Make sure that the style gives the right message
We all read something from style, so make sure that people read the right thing from the style of your card. Run off a number of mock-ups and give them to friends or colleagues and ask them: ’what does this card say about me?’
Colour is important
Colour conveys a message about you, so choose it with care and, unless you are using full colour images, keep the number of colours down. While colour conveys a style, don’t rely on it to convey important information, which should be in a strong dark colour for maximum readability.
Make sure it says what you do
If I take your business card, I will want a prompt to help me remember what you do and why I found you so interesting.
Use the back
A standard business card has two sides to it. One way to get more content or more creativity onto your card is to use both sides. For the marginal extra cost, you get a lot of extra real estate.

The Sixth Lesson for Great Business Cards

There are no rules to good design, and the best designs follow no rules. Here are five blogs with wonderful business card designs.

42 Awesome Business Card Designs

Cool business card designs

18 Smokin’ Hot Business Card Designs

Cool Business Cards

100 (Really) Creative Business Cards

Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy

In The Networking Pocketbook, Jon Warner cites the statistic that 90% of us don’t have a calling card. I suspect that’s mostly the 90% who don’t really need one. However, far more worrying are his statistics that, of the remaining 10%, 35% show only name, address, and phone number, and 40% are out of date or have incorrect information and therefore have to be amended by hand every time they are given out. My collection does not quite bear out that statistic, but there are certainly a good handful that have scribbled comments names, numbers or addresses on them. It looks bad.

So here’s the deal

Take a critical look at your business card. Is it time for a refresh?

If no, take a look at some of the cards in the links above and enjoy being awestruck by the creativity.

And, if you have a card you are proud of, or some advice on how to create one, let our readers know by adding a comment below.

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Posted on June 22, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

If it sounds too good to be true …

The old saying goes: ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’. But there is another possibility: ‘if it sounds to good to be true, then you haven’t done your homework’.

Catching out the best negotiators

Sometimes in negotiations, you will be caught off guard by an unanticipated comment, statement or offer. There is very little that is more disconcerting than an offer that is better than you were expecting. This is because even the best negotiators rarely prepare for this scenario.

The cautious response is to ask yourself: ‘where’s the catch?’ and proceed delicately. But there may be no catch; the offer may be genuine. So whatever you do, don’t risk giving offence by challenging the offer. Unfortunately, when we get caught out, we often respond in an unguarded manner.

What else could be going on?

If there is no catch, then there are two further possibilities:

the offer is a fair one
they know something you don’t and the value is higher than you thought

What should you do?

Obviously, the lesson from this example is to prepare for even this scenario. As Patrick Forsyth says in The Negotiator’s Pocketbook, ‘successful negotiators do their homework’.

But if you are unprepared, then you certainly don’t want to just jump on the offer. So, do what you would do with any offer: make a counter offer, by asking for a little more. What you do not want to do is quickly accept the offer and leave the other person wondering if they have over bid. If they do that, it can lead to buyer’s remorse – a sense of disappointment with the deal that they have struck, which can lead to them later reneging on the deal or not doing further business with you. Worse still, you don’t want to accept a great offer that you could have improved still further.

If you sense the offer is a fair one – just a little better than you had anticipated, then your counter offer can be a little higher. If, on the other hand, you think they know something more about the value than you do, either go considerably higher or, if you can, take a time out to do some more research.

So here’s the deal

There is no substitute for being prepared before you go into a negotiation: both in command of the facts, and mentally prepared to deal with the unexpected.

What are your tips for negotiating, from your own experiences. Let us and our readers know, by contributing your own comment.

The Negotiator’s Pocketbook

In The Negotiator’s Pocketbook, Patrick Forsyth sets out a seven step process for your negotiation preparation. This Pocketbook really is full of fabulous insights and tips.

The Handling Resistance Pocketbook

Okay, so we’ve not been talking about resistance but in the forthcoming Handling Resistance Pocketbook (due in the autumn), you’ll learn a great process, called ‘SCOPE the resistance’ to deal with the kind of surprise this blog talks about.

Read the Handling Resistance Blog at www.handlingresistance.com

Other Management Pocketbooks you might Enjoy

The Influencing Pocketbook

The NLP Pocketbook

The Salesperson’s Pocketbook

The Positive Mental Attitude Pocketbook

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Posted on June 15, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

In Praise of Flip Charts

A recent experience led me to think about the use of visual aids in training. Two training companies were described as being like ‘chalk and cheese’.

Chalk and Cheese

In this case:

one company’s courses are scripted and PowerPoint driven, and trainers appeared to treat participants’ questions as a nuisance. Hmm.
the other company’s trainers welcome interaction and dialogue, and mix PowerPoint with a range of other ways to get their message across. That’s better!

Visual Aids

It led me to think about the term ‘visual aids’. Aids to whom? Some trainers seem to consider that their slides are there to help them in their role as trainers. Perhaps they need to re-think. Visual aids should help the learners to learn, participants to understand, and the audience to remember. And PowerPoint and its kin can be magnificent at this – when used well. We’ll hold that thought for another day!

Flip Charts – the trainer’s friend

I will come out of the closet: I am a real flip chart lover. I love them as a consultant, working through ideas and solving problems; I love them as a facilitator, capturing and sharing ideas; and I love them as a trainer, to explain, clarify and illustrate learning points.

PowerPoint is linear and pre-programmed: flip charts are infinitely flexible. So here are some of my tips and techniques for getting the most from this fabulous tool.

Flip Chart Tips and Techniques

Wings
Lots of flipcharts these days have wings – extendable arms that allow you to fasten a finished sheet to either side of the main display. This is great for displaying participants’ work when doing a review or even for creating wide screen HD flip chart displays.

Pre-prepare
If you want to create complex images or drawings that you are not confident to draw ‘live’ then prepare a sheet with the drawing in light pencil (a 2H lead is ideal). It will be invisible to your audience, but clear enough for you to follow the lines and appear to draw a fabulous image free-hand. Ruled pencil lines also allow you to write in straight lines if this is not something that comes naturally.

Better, still, practise your drawings on a whiteboard. Do them over and over until they become second nature, then you won’t have to pre-prep your flip charts!

Laminates
A great way to great more dynamism and use more powerful images is to create full colour printed images and get them laminated. You can then attach these to your flip chart with blue tack and build up your image more quickly and more stylishly than you could draw it. For example, create six coloured images of hats for when you want to facilitate a discussion about Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats, or illustrate different team dynamics for when you are explaining Tuckman’s model.

Sticky Notes
You can use the oh-so-useful sticky notes in a number of ways. A simple trick is to use them as marker tabs to help you quickly find a pre-prepared sheet quickly. A favourite use is in exercises where you want participants to identify, then classify items. If they write their ideas on the notes, they can then place them on the table or grid you or they have created on the flip chart.

Fonts and colours
For large amounts of text, lower case is easier to read, as long as your writing is very clear. But do ask yourself: ‘are large amounts of text really appropriate?’ They rarely will be. So upper case is often clearer. Text should be in strong colours to create good contrast, and do use lots of colour in your diagrams to make your images interesting.

Caution – do not rely on colour contrast to make distinctions that matter. Around one man in ten has some limitation to their colour vision. It is rarer in women.

Pens
Good flipchart pens are a must. Most trainers (including this one) prefer chisel tip to bullet tip. When you arrive at a training room (if you’re using their pens) or before you leave for the training venue (if you use yours) test all your pens and throw away any that are no longer at their best. Always travel with your own set, and a back up set if you expect to rely on your own. Three excellent brands for clarity/strength of colour, range of colour and life-span (and all are chisel tip) are:

Berol Flipchart Markers
Edding 40
Mr Sketch scented markers

Display
Brighten up your training room by putting flip charts up on the walls at breaks. It creates a stimulating environment, with visual reminders all around, of what participants have been learning.

So here’s the deal

If you don’t already do so, look for more opportunities to use flip charts. Make time to practise using them well, and use good quality pens to help you do it well.

. . . and, most important, please add your own tips to the comments at the foot of this blog, to share them with others.

Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy

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Posted on May 25, 2010March 19, 2018 by Mike Clayton

How high is your “Feedback Credibility Barometer?”

You should never take acceptance of your feedback for granted. Creating the conditions to encourage acceptance requires work and focus. Here are some thoughts from Feedback Pocketbook author, Mike Pezet’s presentation at the recent UK HRD conference in April 2010.

Manage your credibility barometer

Many managers underestimate the impact their credibility has on the value, interpretation and acceptance of their feedback. Credibility is broadly composed of a manager’s perceived competence and trustworthiness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/ / CC BY 2.0

With a high credibility barometer

· The feedback has perceived value

· The feedback will be more readily
..interpreted as intended

· The feedback will be accepted more readily

With a low credibility barometer

· The feedback has limited value

· Interpretation will be wide and may
..focus on motives for the feedback

· The feedback may be difficult to accept

How to drive up your barometer reading

Here are three things that Mike recommends you can do to increase the level of your credibility barometer and improve the acceptance of your feedback.

Demonstrate awareness and appreciation for the challenges people face in their jobs, and the activities they undertake
Notice and draw attention to what people do well
Discuss the feedback relationship before you try and give your feedback

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/ / CC BY 2.0

Manage your judgements

Another important aspect of your credibility and having people accept your feedback is the reliability of the judgements you make. Overestimating the accuracy of your judgments is easily done, but inaccurate feedback won’t be recognised and accepted. It may even cause people to re-evaluate your credibility.

Our judgement broadly focuses on two types of cause:

Environmental causes
You assess me in the light of things I cannot control, such as events and other people
Personal, or internal, causes
Aspects of who I am and the things I can directly control, such as my character and personal style

Here are four things you can do to become a better judge and encourage acceptance:

Suspend your judgement!
Consider the range of causes of their behaviour
Enquire into and explore their perspective of the situation
Review and evaluate the objective evidence

So here’s the deal

Above all, develop co-ownership of your feedback, by creating a feedback contract and discussing the feedback relationship. Then, ensure that you base your feedback on the soundest possible judgement – always stay critical of your own judgement process.

Management Pocketbooks you may enjoy

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