Friday, April 6, 2018

BOSS SPECIAL ....Rate the boss, tactfully - II


 Rate the boss, tactfully - II

Be fair and professional while rating your superior or giving feedback.


You may have an opportunity to rate your boss as part of an upward appraisal or a 360-degree feedback system. In the latter, you rate your boss, colleagues and direct reports and they all rate you back, giving a complete rating picture for every employee. Rating your boss is the trickiest. How do you remain fair and accurate? Will it have a negative impact on your career or relationship with your manager? Here is what you can consider while rating your boss.

THE CONTEXT
Intention
The exercise works best for you if you operate from the intent that you are willing to help your boss improve and be more effective and successful. This works well for rating others too. Next, consider what is your employer’s intent. Is this a annual exercise that consolidates ratings and shares a summary with the individual for his improvement? If yes, it matches your intent. However, if your firm uses this to affect your boss’s compensation or promotion, then rate your boss not for improvement but by benchmarking him against other managers. If it is a one-time activity conducted to change policies and processes, then rate from a perspective of how the firm can better empower your boss.
Trust
Honour the professional or personal trust reposed in you. Abused trust inevitably bounces back and harms one’s career. Do you and your manager trust each other professionally and personally? Does your organisation rely on you to understand your manager? Recognise that the opportunity to rate your boss is a reinforcement of that trust. It is neither a chance to give a poor rating because of last week’s disagreement nor an invitation to gift a undeserved high rating hoping for a promotion as a return gift. Also avoid the trap of group-think. If a couple of members in the team are vocal and have a strong positive or negative opinion it may influence you and the group leading to a copy-cat rating by everyone, which is unfair and incorrect.
Relationship
Be sensitive about your relationship with your boss in the context of the rating process. Unless the rating is anonymous, your boss will ultimately have access to your rating, which in turn may impact your relationship. In such a situation, choose to minimise and moderate negative opinions that you share. Similarly, if you already have a bad relationship with your boss then its best to avoid face-to-face feedback with him or in a public forum like a team feedback with HR.
Solicited vs unsolicited
Has your rating been formally solicited? If yes, then it is part of company policy. There is likely to be an appraisal form with various questions asking you to rate your boss on a scale of 5 or 10 with or without an opportunity to provide feedback comments. The form may be signed or anonymous. A tougher situation arises when your manager’s superior calls for feedback in person or in presence of the team. Here your rating and feedback is also seen as a reflection of your professionalism. Unsolicited rating is when you want to give feedback to your boss even though she has not asked for it. As a rule, avoid that urge. In rare situations where the trust is high and your boss truly relies on you to watch her back, then give feedback regularly after establishing a process and context of situation and project.

THE CONTENT
Process expert
Apart from questions in the rating form, evaluate your manager on five parameters. Firstly, does he follow company processes with respect to business and people? Justify your rating with examples framed in a positive tone. For instance, write ‘Meetings can be planned in advance for better outcomes’, instead of ‘Productive time wasted in pointless meetings’.
Direction giver
A manager’s primary role is to set measurable goals and deadlines for the team. Did you know your targets? Did your boss communicate her expectations from you? Was the team clear about the mission and had opportunity to clarify?
Feedback mirror
After setting targets, your boss establishes a feedback loop for you and the team, to make sure everyone is continuously aligned to the goal. This means you receive regular feedback on how you are doing with respect to achievement. This is a measure of your boss’s responsiveness and you know exactly where you stand.
Project accelerator
Your manager is responsible to make sure the team progresses rapidly. Does your boss do his bit to speed up your work? Here easy accessibility to you manager is important so that you can reach out instantly for both serious problems and motivational support.
Goal scorer
Both the firm and you prefer to work and learn with a manager who is successful. What were the outcomes your boss achieved in the past year and did she meet goals? Does she have problem solving skills? Can she take quick decisions? How does she handle upward pressure?

 How to give feedback

PLANNED, PRACTISED, PRECISE
Before you give feedback, first schedule it in advance. Plan the setting where you will speak with your boss. Next, rehearse what you are going to say. Think ahead and prepare with observations, facts and examples while anticipating questions and preparing responses. Be crisp and precise in your words.

I FEEL/I THINK
Understand that you do not have all the information or knowledge of circumstances. So, for your feedback to be effective, be non-judgmental. Use verbs instead of adjectives. For instance: I think/What I saw/ What I heard. You can be honest about your feelings: “I feel that I perform and learn better when you let me figure out how to achieve the target.”

3 PLUS 1 MINUS
For negative feedback use the 3-1 rule—three positive feedbacks, one negative. Be factual and truthful in your approach. For instance, ‘I think what was great was that goals were clear, resources available and no interference from senior managers. I think we can do better if we have weekly reviews with you to avoid rework later.’

SOLUTION ORIENTED
Share why would you like to see a change. Describe the challenge precisely and avoid accusing. Talk about actions and outcomes that can be improved without labelling people as wrong and needing to change. Frame the solution positively with a focus on improvement.

MIND THE FUTURE
Be respectful during your feedback process. Know that if your boss has reacted negatively to your feedback, you could have done a better job at communicating it or perhaps having avoided it completely. Make sure that your approach continues to remain constructive and professional and your feedback is oriented only towards the future.
By Devashish Chakravarty
ET26MAR18




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