Good development is specific
Posted by
Really the title says it all – do you really need us to blog on this?!
The problem with lots of development is that it’s too general. Think about how you feel when you’re given woolly feedback. If you aren’t really clear about what you need to do, how can you action it?
We’re all taught the concept of writing SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed. But the trouble is that this is too much, too late. It’s too late, because SMART is brought into play at the objective-setting and development planning stage. Whereas what is critical, is just one thing – to be SPECIFIC, and at the point of PREPARING TO GIVE FEEDBACK.
So the one simple skill most managers need to be much sharper at, is being absolutely specific – by thinking about what it is you are not happy with, and in clarifying exactly what you would like to see instead.
But the problem is – we’re not specific! It feels too difficult to do, and we have to think it through in such detail before we give feedback, and sometimes it means giving negative feedback. So what helps us get to this point of clarity?
- Think about exactly what you have seen. Visualise it. Exactly what did you observe, that you weren’t happy with? What would you like to see instead? Now contrast that by thinking about what you have seen that you regard as excellent. Think about role models – people who are really good at the skill. What did you see the role model do, that impressed you? If you can paint a picture of what good and bad look like – you are being specific.
- Don’t focus too much on the headline. There are probably lots of things that are clustering together to give you a feeling that there is a general theme that needs developing. As an example, you might feel that someone needs to “be more commercial” – but they won’t know what that means (because they don’t have the same understanding of what it means to be commercial). Firstly drill down to very specific headlines, that give the detail of what you mean. For example to negotiate better prices or calculate exactly how their decisions impact the bottom line, or how to leverage their customer or business relationships. One you have a specific headline, identify two or three behaviours that will make the biggest shift in performance, once adopted.
- Be specific about the good as well as the bad. It makes your team member feel really fantastic if you take this approach to their strengths and achievements too. Give them not just the headline, but talk about what you’ve seen that you liked, and exactly what impressed you about it.
- Don’t try to be infallible. If you can’t be specific, don’t try to get around it by being vague. Instead tackle the uncertainty head on. “Your current results indicate that there is some kind of problem here. I’m not sure what that is. Can you tell me about what it is that you think is not working?” If neither of you know, set an objective to spend a few weeks investigating further, to find out what needs to change.
The most important thing you can do to help your team grow, is to learn the rare skills of being observant and specific with your feedback. If you can create complete clarity about what ‘good’ looks like, your team will be able to grab the baton and run with it. Very often the problem isn’t about designing development or training – it’s about providing absolute behavioural clarity about what good looks like.