You know what's worse than having a tough conversation? Perpetuating ineffective behaviors. But feedback is often delayed, poorly delivered or doesn't happen at all.
Here are some stats on feedback:
65% of employees would like more feedback than they currently get
44% of managers agreed that giving criticism was stressful or difficult and 21% admitted that they avoid it
37% of managers avoid giving praise
In my experience coaching leaders, they avoid having tough conversations or providing feedback for one of these reasons:
They don't know how
They worry that the message won't land well
They don't want to hurt someone's feelings
They don't like conflict themselves
It takes too much time
The employee is meeting the expectations of their job so why do they need praise?
They believe the employee won't change so what's the point
That said, NOT providing feedback is a disservice to the prospective recipient. It's the antithesis of servant leadership.
A servant leadership approach to feedback is done through the vein of caring for the other person - you care about their success, development, contributions, value and for them as a person. Since you care, why wouldn't you give them feedback?
And don't forget that employees need and deserve plenty of praise and appreciation. When you think you've maxed out your positive feedback, give more. In the eyes of your employees, it will (almost always) never be too much.
This week, I challenge you to give the gift 🎁 of feedback to each of your employees or colleagues every day. They'll appreciate it and you'll have fun doing it.