Are your employees avoiding you? Managerial strategies for closing the feedback gap.

Professor: 王耀德 教授Team Members: 湯美玉、賈文德

劉富玄、莊智湧

Sherry E. Moss & Juan I. Sanchez《 Academy of Management Executive》 , vol.18,2004

Definition of Feedback GapThe actions of employees and managers mutually instigate and reinforce one another, creating a vacuum of meaningful exchanges about poor performance.

This communication failure stems from one or both of the following: a strong sense of discomfort when giving negative feedback or a lack of tolerance for poor performance and the accompanying emotionally charged reactions.

Cases of Feedback Gap

1.The shuttle Columbia broke up over the skies of Texas on February 1, 2003,

2. The subordinates was afraid of bringing bad news to their superior in 2003 Iraq War

3. Due to fearing their superiors’ reaction, SARS spread rapidly.

Feedback-Avoiding Behavior(FAB)

● Various public & potential threats to employees: reputation,private self-esteem

● Fear appearing incompetent in the eyes of the manager.

● Fear to be subject to ridicule or judgment from others.

● Apprehensive to be supposed to ‘ know the ropes .’ when seeking feedback.

Due to….

So…employees use strategies that are designed to either totally avoid their supervisors or divert the supervisor’s attention so that their poor performance is not detected and, in turn, they do not receive negative feedback.

1. Impression management needs

2. Self-preservation needs

3. Personality characteristics

Feedback-Avoiding Behaviorwas motivated by—

Employee & Managerial Influences on the Feedback Gap

Employee Influences on the Feedback Gap

Costs of FAB• Threat to self-esteem

• Fear of appearing incompetent to boss

• Fear of ridicule from coworkers

• Fear of admitting weakness

Personal factors which encourage FAB

• Propensity to seek positive feedback

• Fear of negative evaluation

• High self-esteem

• High concern about public image

• High need for approval

FAB temptations• Desire to maintain

appearance of consistency

• Desire to manage impressions

• Desire to buy time

• Desire to preserve the ego

Managerial Influences on the Feedback Gap

Zero-Tolerant Manager• Low tolerance for failure

• Propensity to make the fundamental-attribution error

• Tendency to react emotionally to bad news

• Psychologically or physically distant from employees

Conflict Avoider• Delays, distorts, and avoids

giving feedback

• Uncomfortable with emotional reactions to feedback

• Gives employee the benefit of the doubt

• Nurturing style

Micromanager• Too physically close to employees

• Fails to delegate

• Obsessed with details

• Propensity to make the false-consensus error

• Takes over

• Expert in finding fault

Micromanager 是老美常用來批評上司的一個字眼。因為 micro 是「微小」的意思。所以 Micromanager 就是用來形容一位上司事必躬親，連一些雞毛蒜皮的小事情他都要指導你如何完成。

告訴員工每一步要作什麼，一個口令一個動作，以確保工作能順利完成，這樣的管理方式就叫 Micromanage 。

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

• Receive attribution training • Explore attribution biases• Ask for employee “accounts”

When analyzing poor employee performance, each manager type seems predisposed to a particular attribution bias.

The better manager will take the time to investigate all of the potential causes of poor performance before deciding whether, when, and how to deliver feedback.

1. Understand All Potential Causes of Poor Performance

• Reduce physical distance to understand external causes of poor performance

• Increase physical distance to give decision• Reduce psychological distance to gain empathy

and trust• Increase psychological distance to gain

objectivity

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

For Zero-Tolerant Mgr. & Micromanager, to decrease psychological distance not only improves manager-employee relations, but also reduces attribution biases.

2. Manage Physical and Psychological Distance

• Be fully attentive to employees when they seek feedback• Express interest in employee needs• Verbally summarize employee concerns to ensure

understanding• Verbally acknowledge employee statements

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

Manager should encourage employees to share any issues and be attentive express interest in the employee’s needs and concerns.Debby Hopkins, CFO of Lucent, says,”The key thing I’ve learned is that the most powerful thing you can do is listen.”

3. Engage in Active Listening

• Give task-level and motivational feedback • Describe poor performance in behavioral terms• Focus on specific, controllable behavior• Ask employee for improvement suggestions• Give negative feedback in private• Use effective timing• Compare employee performance to a standard,

not to other employees• Use a feedback script (e.g. DASR)

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

D: DescribeA: AcknowledgeS: SpecifyR: Reaffirm

4. Give Effective, Non-Threatening Feedback

Management Tactics for Closing the Feedback-Gap

• Consider failure an opportunity to learn• Dissect failure from a learning perspective• Capture the learning• Realize that failure is a by-product of risk-taking

and innovation• Do not tolerate scapegoating

5. Develop a “Learning” Mindset

Failure is a normal outcome when one takes risks and attempts to innovate. Failure provides the opportunity to do an “autopsy” of key decisions, resource allocations, strategies, and processes, which may ultimately lead to better results.

Feedback emerges as a critical resource for continuous organizational learning available to employees and managers.

Management Strategy

Zero-Tolerant Manager Micromanager Conflict Avoider

Open mind about Causes of poor Performance

Attribution training Understand fundamental- attribution error

Understand false-consensus effect

Understand employee’s use of self-serving bias

Seek accounts Understand possible external reasons for failure

Understand employee’s rationale for task strategy

Open up dialogue more comfortably (for manager)

Distance Management Reduce physical distance to understand employee’s environment

Increase physical distance to give discretion

Increase psychological distance to gain objectivity

Reduce psychological distance to gain empathy

Reduce psychological distance to gain empathy

Active Listening Gives manager tools to avoid hasty emotional responses

Allows manager to consider alternative ways to complete tasks

Reduces manager’s discomfort by having employee control dialogue

Effects of Gap-Closing Strategies on Each Managerial Type

Management Strategy

Zero-Tolerant Manager Micromanager Conflict Avoider

Give Effective Feedback

Task or motivational level

Manager avoids attacking the employee

Manager avoids making employee feel inadequate

Manager realizes that negative feedback can be non-threatening

Private Reduces employee discomfort

Reduces employee discomfort

Reduces manager’s discomfort

Well-timed Wait: Allows manager to check emotions

Wait : Allows employee’s task strategy to play out

Give immediately : Maximize impact and reduce chance of losing contingence through delay/avoidance

DASR Allows manager to express emotions in a non- threatening way

Forces manager to assess whether feedback focuses on task process or task outcome

Manager feels more in control and less uncomfortable with a rehearsed script

Develop a “Learning” Mindset

Organization will advance if we embrace failure rather than find scapegoats

Employee will develop more if given discretion to experiment and possibly fail

If we don’t directly address failure, we will never improve

Effects of Gap-Closing Strategies on Each Managerial Type

Conclusion & Reference Material

104 人力銀行《 Manager Today 經理人月刊》

理想主管大調查2004.11

知識及能力多元 溝通能力佳

公平公正

能充分授權好老師型

欣賞重用部屬

高智慧有遠見

專業能力強

●擔任主管最需具備的能力為何？有 57.7 ％的人認為溝通協調是主管最需具備的能力，其次是解決問題的能力、領導能力、情緒管理與為部屬爭取福利。

●會使上班族興起離職念頭的主管？有 21.6 ％的受訪者認為是主管不尊重員工，其次是反反覆覆毫無方向和踏著別人的鮮血晉升等。

104 人力銀行《 Manager Today 經理人月刊》

理想主管大調查 2

1. 要有事先準備 2. 創造適當的氣氛 3. 清楚的討論結構安排 4. 稱讚 5. 用開放式問題讓部屬多談論 6. 請部屬自我評核 7. 討論績效而非人格—事實而非意見 8. 鼓勵分析績效良窳之原因 9. 不要有不可預期的批評 10. 協定新的目標與行動計畫

溝通的目的在於求有效的 feedback ，為促使有效的 feedback ，十大金科玉律

和員工溝通的致命傷

聽而不聞：員工在意的不是主管聽到了多少，而是主管聽進了多少。

先說再聽：員工很可能會覺得自己被特別警告，所以他會變得有防禦心，對主管的要求產生敵意。

雞同鴨講：為了避免產生誤解，當員工在說話時，主管除了仔細聆聽外，也要簡單複述已經聽到的部份，以確定沒有聽錯員工的意思。

一心二用：因為主管心不在焉，員工可能要花比較長的時間來傳達想法，而且會覺得他們不受重視 。

～摘錄自《 EMBA經理人雜誌》第 173 期

The Reason of Feedback Gap1. 無形的 -- 系統面 : 組織系統規劃有 loss , 造成溝通管道不順暢2. 有形的 -- 領導風格 : 公司領導者管理方式為權威式 , 造成員工不願意提出問題

3 組織文化 員工認為提出問題的 , 是異議份子 ; 員工為了人際關係而不願意提出問題 .

4. 溝通管理辨法 公司急速擴增或時間久了 , 未適時 Review修訂溝通管理辨法 , 造成不適用 , 讓問題無法浮現抬面

5. 溝通之有效性當員工有問題提出時 , 未及時及有效的 feedback , 讓員工喪失信心 ; 流於形式而無實質效果

在天下雜誌《 1999標竿企業聲望調查》中成績出色的企業，像台積電、宏碁、中鋼、安泰人壽，都把員工視為最珍貴的資產，致力於提供最具吸引力的工作環境。

宏碁集團董事長 施振榮：『企業最大的社會責任，就是照顧員工！』

《標竿企業聲望調查》

關於溝通，其他企業特殊做法分享• 如何取得員工的信認可視為 EAPs 成功與否的關鍵• 透過員工意見調查可了解員工的一些看法 , 作為改進的方向• 對於員工反應事項 , 以最迅速完整之書面或電話回答處理• 舉辦員工心聲調查 (voice of employee), 針對排名最重要的前幾項先做改善 , 讓員工能感受到公司確實在乎他們的心聲 ,並且有真正的加以改善

• 員工關係 / 健身中心 / 福委會功能充分整合 , 以全方位的規劃與資源運用為員工設計福利與健身措施

• 總經理每週五午餐約會• 每年三節慶 , 針對派駐海外人員的眷屬致贈禮品及總經理親筆簽名之慰問卡片 , 並透過拜訪及電話慰問了解其需求及問題

安泰人壽總經理潘燊昌：「……一定會提高工作力，因為大家比較開心嘛！如果不能提升，那就是公司的錯，不是員工的錯。」

企業重視與員工之間的夥伴關係，並提昇員工福利，與員工相處走向平等互惠，種種方案實施都是為了凝聚員工向心力，讓員工覺得被珍視。 員工最大回饋，就是企業的績效與聲望。

總 結

The End……