Providing constructive criticism is an art.
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Meredith Wood at Fundera shares that companies who provide regular feedback to their team have a lower turnover rate of 14.9% on average.* 93% of people believe when negative feedback is delivered correctly it improves performance**. ⁠
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As a leader, it may be hard to know how to kindly and effectively evaluate your team. As challenging as critiquing your team may be, it is an important component of strong and resilient team cultures. Here are 3 ways that I believe aesthetic business leaders can best share criticism with their team:⁠
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Prepare
As you prepare for team member reviews, consider what you will say ahead of time. Offer specific examples of ways their work didn’t meet expectations and brainstorm actionable steps they can take. ⁠
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Balance
Balance the negative feedback you share with positive feedback. Negative feedback should be authentic and honest, focused on current issues/ improvements. Criticism of past performance should be saved for high-level evaluations. Experts recommend providing positive and negative feedback in a 7:1 ratio.⁠
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Provide
Offer a safe and comfortable environment for conversations involving constructive criticism. This means evaluating team members 1-on-1 and always in person. Reassure team members that you want to work on overcoming problems together. Whenever possible, provide resources that team members can utilize for professional development.⁠
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Giving and receiving constructive criticism is hard. As you and your team learn how to navigate communicating negative feedback effectively, consider asking for feedback in return. This provides the opportunity for you to learn how to improve sharing constructive criticism with your team and helps build a culture of trust and openness.⁠
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Do you find constructive criticism more difficult to give or receive? ⁠
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*Source Link: 9 Tips for Giving Constructive Criticism at Work | Fundera