Sometimes we are too worried to give feedback to people who are superior than us in terms of status, knowledge, position etc. How do we overcome the worries?
Recently we have received some questions from members and non members in regard to the importance of "how to become an effective evaluator". We are honoured to have DTM Charles Tan Chia Lih (also the speaker of "Evaluate to Motivate" workshop) to answer the questions below before the workshop takes place on 1st August 2010.
Q1. Can anyone of us give effective feedback or evaluation in our own profession?
Feedback is good only if it can be provided immediately and if it provides suggestions for improvement.
Example of feedback: You should do a better presentation.
Example of effective feedback: If you can insert two graphs, it will make the presentation easier to understand. Besides that, I feel that you neglected the right side of the crowd. If possible, try to cover the whole room.
Thus, for any profession at all, effective feedback is necessary.
Example for Engineer:
Engineering Manager: You must ensure the machine does not breakdown!
With this type of feedback, nothing gets done and the engineer would also be demotivated.
A better one: It is okay to be slow and steady because once you setup the machine properly, it will run smoothly. Besides, this allows you to focus on more value added duties and establish yourself as a specialist.
This cannot happen overnight but if you know the techniques you may start to practice and soon, everyone can provide effective evaluations.
Q2. If we are not born naturally as an effective evaluator. Can this skill be taught or trained?
Many say, leaders are born but the truth is, majority of leaders are made. An effective evaluator is the one who is able to effectively provide positive and pro-active feedback and these can only be obtained through constant practice. There are some managers whom you like very much and there are some who appear to be always picking on you for all the faults but has never tried to help out. These habits can change if only they learn that effective evaluation is much more useful than just common fault finding feedback.
Q3. Can you please share with us how you benefits of becoming an effective evaluator in your daily life?
If you are an effective evaluator, you would find that in your work, everything and everyone seems to like to be part of your team. Somehow, any project given to you will be successful versus another manager who simply is unable to give effective evaluation / feedback. As a husband, you will find that your wife would also understand you more!
Q4. Sometimes we are too worried to give feedback to people who are superior than us in terms of status, knowledge, position etc. How do we overcome the worries?
The truth is, IF we are able to listen well and provide feedback with tangible evidence to our superiors, they would treat us as their equal and would want to share with us even more.
When I just joined my organization, I listened to my Vice President's press conference. It was riddled with too many 'You know'. I wrote an email to him and said, 'Dear XXX, I must say that in terms of knowledge about the industry, you are way ahead than many. However, there were just too many 'you know' that made your presentation lose some of its effectiveness. '
My VP listened to the video himself and called me and said, 'Thank you. I will try to reduce this. If you find this again in future, please remind me. Really appreciate this'.
I was just a new and junior staff giving REAL FEEDBACK to my VP! Many would say, this is suicidal. But let me assure you, if the feedback is done correctly, it enhances not just you but everyone around you.
Q5. How Toastmaster can train us in becoming a better evaluator or effective in giving feedback?
Practice, Practice, Practice. Listen, Listen, Listen. Learn from the best in Toastmasters, improve ourselves and soon, we would see that we are improving a lot. Even colleagues who seldom talk to us now seemed to be one of our good friends in the company!
- End of Q&A session-
More and more valuable sharing from DTM Charles Tan Chia Lih on "Evaluate to Motivate" will be covered in the workshop on 1st August 2010.
To find out more about this workshop, please contact our cheerful and friendly officers who are ready to assist you.
1. Celine 012 - 466 8589 /celine_kerwoon@yahoo.com
2. Pei Jun 012 - 492 9443 /sugus_cheah@hotmail.com
For those who have already signed up the workshop, see you there!
Cheers
