Positive feedback is powerful. It’s an incredible tool to let your sellers know that you see them. Positive feedback can be used even in the most difficult situations. If you are a great manager, this isn’t a foreign concept to you. I’ll share two short stories that exemplify management styles. You decide which one you’d like to embrace.
I had a manager who just refused to give positive feedback. This was especially challenging as I was new to the job and had lots to learn. The job was challenging in and of itself and the company was going through major culture change. Morale was down and sellers didn’t feel safe. I was managing a team of client executives who were being asked to sell new things and this really pushed them outside of their comfort zone. It became my mission to help them embrace the new solutions and lean on their peers to help share the load. I spent time building bridges between the teams and tried to foster collaboration and teaming through team calls, story telling and kindness. After a few months, on a 1:1 call, I said to my boss, “You know, you don’t offer any positive feedback and that’s something that is valuable to me. It lets me know you see what I’m doing beyond forecasting.” Her response was, “Hmm, you and my husband would get along well.” This was a troubling comment as it appeared that positive feedback simply wasn’t part of her management style. A few weeks went by with no change and I brought up the subject again. I said, “I know we spoke a few weeks ago about positive feedback and I haven’t seen any change.” She replied, “Well, I worry that if I give you any positive feedback you will think you are doing everything well.” That was a crushing comment and made me realize this working relationship was not going to go well. Morale continued to suffer, reps left the team and I left the business.
On the flip side, I had another manager who saw talent in me. She was open and thoughtful and asked me for my thoughts on my team and who I thought had potential. The more time I spent with her, the more opportunities I had to share my perspective. I put her in a position to advocate for my team and for me. I began to to think of new ways of optimizing our business and asked her if I could take a couple of calculated risks. Her response was, “Girl, I’ve got your back, now fly!!” That team became the most productive as compared to my peers. We were surpassing quota, our contribution to the bottom line was significant and I built a culture of happy sellers who LOVED what they were doing. Together we fostered an environment of out of the box thinking and fun.
Which style resonates with you?