Tool Kit
The Feedback Formula
» Give feedback soon: immediacy makes an impression.
» Focus on behaviors, not personality. That way, it’s not too hot to handle.
» Take advantage of times you can recognize good behavior and performance—this, too, is learning.
» Don’t confuse feedback with “getting something off your chest.”
» Learn to read each individual to know the right amount of feedback to deliver. Avoid giving too much. Some people can take a lot; others need it in bite-size pieces for it to be effective.
» Stay open to new information. Be loose enough to change your point of view.
» Always give feedback privately, out of the earshot of others. Otherwise, the discussion will shut down fast.
Merle, an EDM who told us she considers development part of her job, explains her use of feedback as follows: “I approach development as an everyday, ‘being there’ sort of thing, not a programmatic process. If I see something, I address it; I don’t wait for a meeting.” She stays conscious not only of task completion but also of the way in which tasks are done. What is important is that the method moves the needle forward for the next time. In many instances, a few minutes is all it takes for Merle to provide feedback. It’s just a way of managing for Merle, and it doesn’t take lots of extra time. And because the lucky people she manages get smarter and more productive, Merle saves time by not needing to do as much corrective coaching, people shuffling, and other time-wasting tasks.
Turn Mistakes into Instant Learning
EDMs don’t mind mistakes if people are open to learning from them. A story about Jack Welch told by Ram Charan provides a memorable example of how to turn a mistake into a development opportunity. Welch was sitting in on a demonstration of e-commerce when the computer equipment failed. The middle-level manager running the show was mortified. What did Welch do? He looked at the group and asked, “If this happened in front of a customer, how would it have felt? What would you have done in that situation?” He knew that the presenter had rehearsed and prepared. Pouncing on him would have been cruel, but ignoring the glitch would have been a wasted opportunity for learning. Welch showed how elegant and easy it was to make it a learning moment.
Keep the Right Distance
Don’t think that promoting employee independence means you are missing in action. Quite the contrary. EDMs stay in the picture. They listen to frustrations, ask thought-provoking questions, encourage employees to keep trying, and help identify resources. They try to avoid parachuting in to perform a rescue. But at the same time, they are not bystanders to crash-and-burn situations. An EDE who reports to EDM Lori (the manager mentioned in the beginning of the Introduction), enthusiastically told us, “Lori pushed me out on the ledge. It was scary and exhilarating. But I knew she quietly had my back the whole time.”
Sometimes nothing is more motivating for employees than the threat of failure. Often this high-stakes atmosphere leads to great learning and breakthroughs and helps employees build confidence and resilience. The next time they encounter a troubling situation, they will be less likely to back down. Eventually, they will approach obstacles with greater fortitude. But proceed with caution. As with stretch assignments, your distance is a balancing act. If you prefer to get things done right and get them done quickly, this approach to promoting autonomy may be tough for you to take. You might be inclined to get in too close and end up overprotecting people when they could achieve deep development from the threat of potential failure.
You can get development “wholesale,” getting more for less. We found that most EDMs excel at adapting the approaches we’ve outlined for individuals to entire teams of people on a wholesale basis. They didn’t sacrifice results. They found a way to get development while getting results and leverage the wholesale benefits of the team structure. The overall outcome: an incredible developmental multiplier.
Want some ideas for how to achieve that multiplier? Think simply of three times three. Three actions you take with your team to do at each of three stages: the beginning, middle, and end. You’ll recognize the team-size application of many of the same techniques we have covered in this chapter.
Manage the Beginning, as You Start Working on a New Effort Together
First, Establish a Developmental Culture from the Get-Go
EDMs make it abundantly clear from the very start that they expect both learning and result outcomes. That message sets the right tone for teams. When EDMs constantly ask questions about what people are learning and how that learning can be applied, they reinforce the development culture. And when they publicly commend people for using those lessons, they further establish the development-focused work environment.
Second, Set Out Clear Work Assignments with Room for Learning
Teams learn best when they have an important task that is outside their immediate grasp. That stretch creates both the room and necessity for learning. You want them to struggle a bit but not get lost in the wilderness. Providing the rules of engagement up front really helps them avoid veering off track. Take a page from EDM Frank, who says, “I clearly charter the teams with the business objectives and the mission. I also provide the ground rules, boundaries, and budget.” Because Frank provides “guard rails,” he can give teams big and slightly terrifying goals and be confident that they will learn their way into meeting these goals.
Third, Staff the Team Developmentally
Think in terms of staffing the team with “shorts” and “longs” of experience. EDMs make sure the team has the sum of smarts it needs while also providing opportunities for those who are there primarily to learn. Here’s one variation from Fred, the CEO of a midsize software development firm: “I often use teams developmentally. I mix pros with people who need to learn things in order to contribute to the team’s goals. I inform the teams of their core mission, available resources and score card targets. I also let them know their decision-making authority and how I expect them to share information.”
Here’s another approach from EDM Kay: “I like putting people on cross-functional teams so they can see different styles, approaches, and skills in motion. And I make it clear that this learning is a requirement in addition to results.”
Manage the Middle, Once Team Members Are in a Rhythm of Working Together
First, Don’t Hover but Be Near
EDMs toe the line between staying out of the way of teams and remaining close enough to respond to calls for help or sense when they should intervene. Here’s how Phillip works the balance: “I get out of the way of the teams I have set up, but I create a way for the team to call me in if I’m needed.” Betty summarizes her approach this way: “I would give the team stretch goals and encourage team members to lean into the learning. They knew I would not judge them as not measuring up as they struggled to fill gaps in learning. I also watched over my shoulder, but not too closely, to do things like run interference, negotiate for resources, and position them well with senior managers, who were sometimes too nervous about results.”
Second, Use Questions to Spur Learning
When EDMs do appear on the team scene, they ask questions instead of giving answers. Brad describes his team visits like this: “I spend most of my time asking questions that clarify thinking, cause the team to consider options, lay out different scenarios, or help people think through reactions of key stakeholders. Often my questions generate additional requirements for information and analysis to get to the bottom of complex issues. And if someone makes a mistake, I use questions to turn it into a learning opportunity.”
Third, Add Learning Resources and Subtract Distractions
Sometimes teams need access to information or to people with knowledge and experience. EDMs keep the learning on track by connecting teams with what they need. One manager set up brown bag lunches where experts shared ideas. Another brought in some reports that added new perspective. This technique is a matter of putting the right learning resources in the path of the team at the right time—when team members are stuck or when they need to broaden perspectives.
Learning takes time and energy. EDMs tend to run interference for teams so that the teams don’t have to spend time on busywork or dealing with people who waste their time. Of course, there’s a balancing act here, too. Be careful not to go too far and insulate teams from people who are difficult but are also key players. Much can be learned by figuring out how to work with challenging experts and stakeholders—as you’ll see in Chapter 4.
Manage the End, When Teams Are Winding Down Their Efforts
First, Gather Feedback About the Team
Teamwork, particularly when it’s developmentally stretching, is all-consuming. Sometimes there’s not a minute to step back and look at how the team is doing. So timely feedback about how the team’s actions are perceived by others and how others are being affected by the team’s results can be extremely valuable. We’ve seen teams put together an online survey to collect feedback. Others have pulled together a mini-project for team members to go out and briefly interview others to find out reactions. There are many creative ways to get this additional envelope of information—and it provides a nice chunk of perspective to bring into a project debrief (we’ll get to that in a minute).
Second, Insist on Postimplementation Team Learning
In the middle of the team process, the opportunity is to learn in the moment. At the end, after key milestones have been completed, the opportunity is to learn from reflection. Many workers have little patience to reflect on learning once projects are completed. We’re all too eager to go to the next challenge. That tendency short-circuits learning and keeps us from reusing it. EDMs follow the example of the CSI TV shows, which always include postmortems in which the characters uncover new layers of learning. One CEO described his process this way: “I insist on postmortems and try to attend as many as I can. We discuss what went wrong and what to learn from it, as well as what went right and how to play that forward.”
Third, Institutionalize the Learning
Project debrief meetings signal to teams that you’re serious about making talent your business. They’re also a sure-fire way to transfer key lessons among the team members. The idea here is to institutionalize the learning. EDM Scott shared this insight: “I always take time to talk about what the team learned. If I don’t, the next time I task a team with development and results goals, I will not be taken seriously. Plus, these conversations are fun and inspiring for me.”