The Simple Secret to Comunication Feedback For Results ©
Sabrina Braham MA PCC; Leadership & Career Development Executive Coach for Fortune 1000 firms for Over 25 Years, WomensLeadershipSuccess.com & SabrinaBraham.com
The business leaders and executives I coach ask me over and over again, “What can I do to really make a difference in my leadership ability? What do I need to go from good leader to great leader?”
And they ask “How can help my employees grow and develop? How can I effectively foster continual improvement over the years?”
I hear story after story that the feedback process these leaders use simply does not work.
Well, I’m going to give you a technique today that will make a huge difference.
It will improve your ability to get and implement feedback for results for yourself. And when you use this technique to give feedback to others – your peers and direct reports – it will enable them to change their behavior too.
And it will only take five minutes to learn. Communication feedback for results.
From Territory Manager To Vice President
I’ve been using this communication feedback for results technique for over twenty five years with great success and so I know it really works. Here’s one example.
I taught this technique to a coaching client from a Fortune 1000 company. When he started with me he was a Territory Manager. He was struggling to get actionable feedback from his peers and direct reports. He implemented my technique both in soliciting feedback for himself and when guiding his direct reports. Not only was he able to engage his peers, supervisors, and direct reports in his improvement process, they became active partners in his improvements, often offering small suggestions to help him. He is now a Vice President of a large manufacturing company, and still moving up.
How to Give & Receive Communication Feedback for Results to Develop Continuous Growth
The familiar way we give feedback is to say you’re doing “Fair to Poor” or ““Good” or “Excellent.” But the human brain doesn’t know how to measure or take action on these qualitative values.
To make feedback for results much more effective, use a numeric scale. A scale of 1 to 10 works best for most cases – and the amazing thing is that the brain gets it right away.
For example, imagine I ask you right now about your health, on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the healthiest that you could be feeling and a 1 is you are almost brain dead. What number are you now? Today I am a 7. The number you pick will be consistent in your scale (and mine is consistent in my scale). If I ask you next week I will know if you feel better or worse depending on the number you tell me. And likewise if you ask me next week.
My client used this idea in the following way. He had been asking his direct reports and peers to give him feedback, but without a scale. So he would get responses like “What you’re doing now is okay. Ummm, you might think about improving your speeches.” Hard to take action on, or even know where he really stood.
Then he started using my 1-10 scoring system. He asked, “Would you be willing to give me communication specific feedback on how I’m doing in giving speeches in our monthly meetings? With 10 being fantastic and 1 so terrible the audience is asleep, what number would you give me right now?”
At first people were uncomfortable about giving feedback to their boss, but they went ahead. He might hear, for example, “Well, I would give you a six.”
Then he would ask the next question. “What could I do to make it a six and a half?” (Note that he didn’t ask how to get to 10, just how to be ½ point better.)
Perhaps the person would suggest he slow down his speech when giving a presentation.
His response to the suggestion is critical. “Thank you for your feedback. I’m going to work on that this next month. May I check with you next month to see how I’m doing?
Next month he asks again, “How was my speech, on a scale of 1-10?” They say, “Well you were a 6.”
And he asks, “So, was I still speaking really fast?”
“Well no, you slowed down a little bit, I would give you a six and a half on that. But I guess it maybe isn’t how fast you’re speaking, it’s that you don’t ever look up at the audience. You’re looking down at your notes or the slides the whole time.”
“Okay what number am I on looking at the audience?”
“I would give you a 5.”
“So if I was going to be a 5 and a half I need to look at the audience more?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for your feedback. I’m going to think about how I can do that. Can I check with you next month to see how I am doing?”
As in this example, sometimes when you go back to the person they might refine their feedback or even change their suggestion. This is fine and expected.
By consistently checking back every month, my client’s direct reports became more comfortable giving him feedback . In fact, they even started actively looking for his improvement and giving small suggestions to help him. He became a better speaker and his relationships with his direct reports deepened. His team began to use the 1-10 technique on themselves and others with great success. And of course these improved skills contributed to his rapid rise in the company.
The 5 Minute Secret That Makes the 1-10 Scale So Successful
We want to improve and we want to help others improve. Naturally, we immediately think about getting to be a 10 on the feedback scale. But if you’re starting at a 6, the minute you start thinking about getting all the way to 10 your brain begins to scramble.
Making a change of that magnitude quickly, in one jump, just isn’t possible. But making a one-half point change – anyone can do that. That’s the secret to success. You only ask, “What can I do to change a half a point?”
Using a 1-10 scale for feedback, and asking about ½ point increments of improvement will not only save you a huge amount of time, you will have a much clearer picture of where we you are today, and get actionable insight into how to get better. This is feedback for results that works like magic.
“Sabrina your 1 – 10 feedback systems totally changed my management style. It’s changed both how well I am able to implement feedback from my team, as well as the feedback I give other people.”
Chris P., VP, Fortune 500 Insurance Co.
Works Like Magic with All Levels of Your Company
I have used this for 25 years with all kinds of in different companies in consulting with CEOs, Vice Presidents, General Managers, and other executives at all levels. They tell me it totally changes their management style, and transforms the effectiveness of feedback for themselves and the feedback they gave other people.
The more you practice and use this technique the better you’ll get at it. And you will be amazed at the results you get, and how much it accelerates your career.
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Sabrina 14 Masterful Communication Tips to be a Great Leader – Free Guide
Here are 14 top communication tips from over 100 top leaders guaranteed to help you be a better leader, increase your confidence, advance your career and increase your income.
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About Sabrina Braham MA PCC
Sabrina Braham is an author, Professional Certified Coach, management consultant, trainer, facilitator and founder of Women’s Leadership Success Radio.
She works with Fortune 1000 firms, top universities & government agencies.
Sabrina specializes in leadership, career advancement, and increasing employee engagement to increase profits and productivity and feedback for results for over 2 decades.
Some of her coaching, consulting and training clients include Stanford University, Autodesk, Ernst & Young, MGM Grand Resorts, Farmers Insurance and many more. Call or email her today to see if she is a good match to help you and your team. 707-576-7776 • Sabrina@SabrinaBraham.com • WomensLeadershipSuccess.com • SabrinaBraham.com
