Restarting a stalled Trinity

Rather than feel frustrated that it is still uncomfortable, perhaps look at it from another angle. Does it have to be comfortable for you to be affective? It only matters that you do it, not that it is easy (and of course, it will get easier). Your folks miss it. They know it is hard to deliver, so they might understand, but they miss it. You definitely need to start it again.

Here are some specific things to try:

1) Consider re-introducing FB to your team in a team meeting. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you have let it slack off but you know it is important to give feedback based on their behavior because it helps the team, the company, and the individual grow. This will put pressure on you to actually start doing it again and it will help ease some tension, if there is any.

2) Use poker chips in a pocket or some other mechanism to track a daily goal of # FB given. It absolutely helps.

3) Remember that it can be brief and it does not have to be perfect. Grab someone after a meeting as you are walking back and give them FB while going down the hall. I have found that when I have struggled it was often because I was making too much of a big thing about it. The effort counts way more than the word choice. If you screw it up, they will forgive you.

Remember that they want it. Even if they say they don’t. You want more FB from your boss, so do they. You owe it to them to be better than most of the managers out there that would never bother to try and certainly not try again!

Hope that helps.

I am sure many folks in the MT community have had the same challenges at times, I know I have.

Good luck,
Mike

[quote="toaster"]Do you find that colours for positive and corrective feedback useful or just one colour?[/quote]

Tony - you might be "overengineering" this a bit.. :wink: .

At the end of the day when you pull out the poker chips you've used, I'd hope that you could recall the details of the feedback you gave...

-Hugh

You're over thinking feedback. Just get some poker chips, color doesn't matter.

When you re-introduce FB in team meeting do NOT say I'll give 70%/30% correcting. That is just a reminder for managers because we focus tooooooo much on correcting.

In the team meeting just saying something like, "There have been lots of times when you've done positive things and I've noticed and I haven't said anything. We'll now when I notice I want to share it because I believe more feedback is a good thing. Feedback is just noticing your good work and where you might make a small adjustment. If you feel threatened I'm sorry because I'm not that good at it yet. I'm willing to mess up because I think this is going to help us over the long run. When I give you feedback you are NOT in trouble. It's just feedback."

[quote="toaster"]
[quote="mikehansen"]2) Use poker chips in a pocket or some other mechanism to track a daily goal of # FB given. It absolutely helps.[/quote]

This is Brilliant!!! I love it... will go for it. Do you find that colours for positive and corrective feedback useful or just one colour?
[/quote]

Make it easy to start with. If you have 7 directs, start the day with 7 poker chips in your right pocket. When you give a piece of feedback to someone, move a chip from your right pocket to your left pocket. Your goal is to get all the chips in your left pocket by the end of the day.

Once you're able to do that, try to "string" days together where you have all the chips in your left pocket by the end of the day. Just like when practicing putting in golf: if you can make 10 in a row from 3 feet, then move out to 4 feet and try to make 10 in a row from there.

[quote="US101"]You're over thinking feedback. Just get some poker chips, color doesn't matter.

When you re-introduce FB in team meeting do NOT say I'll give 70%/30% correcting. That is just a reminder for managers because we focus tooooooo much on correcting.

In the team meeting just saying something like, "There have been lots of times when you've done positive things and I've noticed and I haven't said anything. We'll now when I notice I want to share it because I believe more feedback is a good thing. Feedback is just noticing your good work and where you might make a small adjustment. If you feel threatened I'm sorry because I'm not that good at it yet. I'm willing to mess up because I think this is going to help us over the long run. When I give you feedback you are NOT in trouble. It's just feedback."[/quote]

Wonderful post, and helpful/timely topic!

Thank you, everyone, for poking this beehive of mine again. :)

toaster,

I agree with the above posts. I do not use different color chips and I would not speak to the %s in the meeting.

ps, I got the poker chips idea from the MT conference I attended. I highly recommend trying to get to one of those if your budget allows.

Take care,
Mike