Make Getting Feedback Less Stressful
Featuring Ed Batista, an executive coach, an instructor at the
Stanford Graduate School of Business, and blogger on
www.HBR.com
FEBRUARY 26, 2015Sponsored by
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OCTOBER 17, 2012
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FEBRUARY 26, 2015
Today’s Speaker
Ed Batista, an executive coach, an instructor
at the Stanford Graduate School of
Business, and blogger on www.HBR.com
Make Getting Feedback Less Stressful
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
@HBRExchange | #HBRwebinar
Make Getting Feedback Less Stressful
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
HBR Guide to Coaching Employees
Succeed as a manager by learning how to
coach your employees.
- Create realistic plans for growth
- Provide feedback they’ll actually apply
- Give them room to grow
Making Feedback
Ed Batista, February 26, 2015
Less Stressful
Photo by Ana Karenina [link]
Photo: Seth Anderson
Who am I?
Executive coach
Instructor @ Stanford GSB
Write @ HBR.org & edbatista.com
HBR Guide to Coaching Your Employees
Photo: Seth Anderson
Why feedbackmatters to me
Touchy Feely
Changed my view of myself
Impact on my clients & students
Photo: Seth Anderson
Why I believe itmatters to you
Soft skills are hard
Leadership is evolving
Feedback = The most efficient way to improve
Photo by Theresa Thompson [link]
Agenda
The headline
Emotion
Social threat
Feedback-rich culture
Questions
The headline
Photo by Garry Knight [link]
Feedback is stressful
So critique with skill…
Express more appreciation…
& build it into your culture
The simplest
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
feedback model
The simplest
When you do [X], I feel [Y].
1st key: Specify behavior [X]
Clarifies what we’re talking about
feedback model
The simplest
When you do [X], I feel [Y].
2nd key: Specify emotion [Y]
Creates interest & influences future behavior
feedback model
The simplest
When you do [X], I feel [Y].
feedback model
Emotion
Photo by Rebecca Krebs [link]
Antonio Damasio, USC
What purpose do emotions serve?
What role do they play in reasoning?
Emotion
Photo by Rebecca Krebs [link]
Emotions evolved to support survival
Uncontrolled emotion & bias can lead us astray*
But emotion is integral to reasoning
Essential for efficient decision-making
Emotion
Photo by Rebecca Krebs [link]
Victor Johnston, New Mexico State
“Discriminant hedonic amplifiers”
Emotion
Photo by Rebecca Krebs [link]
Victor Johnston, New Mexico State
“Discriminant hedonic amplifiers”
Boost signals in our mental landscape
Emotions = Attention magnets
Emotion
Photo by Rebecca Krebs [link]
Joseph LeDoux, NYU
“A quick and dirty signal”
Neural pathways 2x
But speed has a price
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
Emotion
Rapid triggering
Reflexive responses
Sensing ≠ Comprehension
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
Emotion
Display rules
“Don’t be so emotional.”
Disclosing feelings Vulnerable
Emotion management is key
Emotion
Photo by Tania Cataldo [link]
management
Emotion
Not “suppression”
Reframing
Self-soothing
Talking about feelings
management
Reframing
“Cognitive reappraisal”
James Gross & Rebecca Ray, Stanford
Kevin Ochsner, Columbia
How do our thoughts influence our experience?
Reframing
The meanings we assign Emotional response
Re-interpret a situation Manage our emotions
Self-soothing
Photo by Amanda Patsopoulou [link]
Self-soothing
“Physiological modification”
Active steps to change our emotional state
Self-soothing
“Response modification”
Active choice in how we express emotion
Self-soothing
Deeper, slower breaths
Speak more slowly & monitor tone
Sense our non-verbals & body language
Shift focus of our attention
Talking about
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
feelings
Talking about
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
feelings“Affect labeling”
Amygdala
Talking disrupts negative emotion
Talking about emotion > Thinking about emotion
Stress & learning
Photo by Sara V. [link]
Yerkes-Dodson Law (Harvard, 1908)
Arousal improves performance up to a point
Some stress increases learning
Too much stress stifles learning
Stress & learning
Stress
Learning
Stress & learning
Hans Selye, Université de Montréal
Eustress & Distress
Stress & learning
Stress
Learning
Eustress Distress
Stress & learning
Judy Willis
Teachers limit stress Students learn more
Stress & learning
Stress
Learning
Eustress Distress
Critical to avoid the tipping point
To review
Emotion
Integral to reasoning
Attracts attention
Exerts influence
A critical element in feedback
To review
Emotion also…
Fast-moving & hard to control
Distress stifles learning
Management practices are key
6 of the scariestwords in the
English language
Can I give you
Photo by Robbie Grubbs [link]
some feedback?
Why is feedback
Photo by Robbie Grubbs [link]
so stressful?
Feedback and
Photo by Mykl Roventine [link]
social threat
Photo by State Farm [link]
Threat response
“Fight, flight or freeze”
Photo by State Farm [link]
Threat response
Physiological
Adrenaline & cortisol
Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration
Optimized for strength & speed
Photo by State Farm [link]
Threat response
Emotional
Anger & aggression
Fear & anxiety
Primed for snap judgments
Photo by State Farm [link]
Threat response
Cognitive
Negativity bias
Impairment & diminished capacity
Decision-making, problem-solving, collaboration
Social threat
Photo by David Sim [link]
Some social situations ≈ Physical threats
Identical responses
Physiological
Emotional
Cognitive
SCARF model
David Rock, NeuroLeadership Institute
What social situations trigger a threat response?
SCARF modelStatus
Photo by the National Guard [link]
SCARF modelStatus
Certainty
Photo by Amy Ashcraft [link]
SCARF modelStatus
Certainty
Autonomy
Photo by Charles Hoffman [link]
SCARF modelStatus
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Photo by Don-Pixel [link]
SCARF modelStatus
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Fairness
Photo by JMTImages [link]
SCARF modelStatus
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Fairness
When getting
Photo by Ed Yourdon [link]
feedback
When gettingfeedback
(Reframe the experience)
Offering feedback ≠ Higher status
Emphasize choice & agency
Remember the relationship*
Manage defensiveness*
When gettingfeedback
When getting
Feeling threatened ≠ There’s an actual threat
feedback
When gettingfeedback
(Self-soothe)
When getting
Cultivate in-the-moment awareness
Notice & arrest our threat response
Slow things down
feedback
When gettingfeedback
(Talk about feelings)
When getting
Feedback should be a dialogue
Share feelings in the moment
Manage threat response
feedback
Photo by Garry Knight [link]
When givingfeedback
When giving
(Lower the risk of threat response)
feedback
When giving
Be mindful of status
Minimize uncertainty
Maximize autonomy
Build the relationship
feedback
Relationships
John Gottman, University of Washington
What characterizes successful relationships?
Relationships
Feeling known by the other
A culture of appreciation
Responding to “bids”
Mutual influence
A soft start*
When giving
Photo by Phil McElhinney [link]
Not like this
feedback
When giving
Photo by Oakley Originals [link]
feedback
Like this
Begin with authentic positive intent
Emphasize mutual goals
Manage stress levels
Minimize risk of threat response
When givingfeedback
Photo by Connor Tartar [link]
Relationships& conflict
5:1 positive to negative interactions
Over time, not in every conversation
“Emotional bank account”
Relationships& conflict
Relationships
Requires investment in advance
Relationships
Requires investment in advance
Can’t “switch on” when needed
Relationships
Goal isn’t just “warm fuzzies”
Strong relationships Feedback is less stressful
Photo by Roger Alcantara [link]
Defensiveness
Photo by Roger Alcantara [link]
Defensiveness
Specific form of threat response
Generated by perceptions of unfairness
We feel misunderstood and want to explain
Photo by Roger Alcantara [link]
Defensiveness
It’s useful data (Sign of significance)
But threat response Cognitive impairment
When triggered, we can’t take in feedback
Photo by The Mighty Tim Inconnu [link]
The net
Photo by The Mighty Tim Inconnu [link]
The net
David Bradford, Stanford
How to increase perceptions of fairness?
How to minimize defensiveness?
The net
Me You
Your
response
My
behavior
My
intention
What I know
Me
My
intention
My
behavior
What I don’t
You
Your
response
What you know
You
Your
response
My
behavior
Me
What you don’t
My
intention
Photo by The Mighty Tim Inconnu [link]
Use the model
When getting
Photo by Francesco [link]
feedback
When getting
(Reframe the experience)
feedback
When getting
They will cross the net
Impact ≠ Intent
Our defensiveness wasn’t their intention
feedback
When getting
(Self-soothe)
feedback
When getting
How do I respond when I feel unfairly accused?
Down-regulate our emotions
Slow things down
feedback
When getting
(Talk about feelings)
feedback
When getting
“I feel a little defensive.”
Or embarrassed or ashamed
Very difficult & very effective
feedback
When giving
(Minimize the risk of threat response)
feedback
When giving
Avoid crossing the net
Focus on what you know
(Observed behavior & your response)
When you do [X], I feel [Y].
feedback
When giving
Remember that you will cross the net
Intent ≠ Impact
Intentions don’t guarantee desired impact
feedback
When giving
Disclose your intention
Down-regulate their emotions
feedback
Photo by Lee Nachtigal [link]
To review
Minimize social threat
The SCARF model & the net
Reframe, self-soothe, talk about feelings
Build the relationship
Manage defensiveness
Feedback-rich
Photo by Heisenberg Media [link]
culture
Feedback-rich
Social threat Many times/day
Most commonly at work
Individual skills reduce social threat
Culture plays a huge role
culture
Feedback-richculture
Individual skills ≈ Genes
Environment determines their expression
Skills are necessary but insufficient on their own
Ability to deploy skills is culture-dependent
Feedback-richculture
(Components)
Feedback-richculture
Safety, trust & intimacy
Balance
Normalcy
Accountability
Safety, trust,
Photo by Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis [link]
intimacy
Hierarchy of needs
Photo by Wilhelm Joys Anderson [link]
Abraham Maslow
What motivates us as human beings?
Hierarchy of needs
Photo by Wilhelm Joys Anderson [link]
Physiological
Safety
Love & belonging
Esteem
Self-actualization
Hierarchy of needs
Photo by Wilhelm Joys Anderson [link]
Parallels in working groups,
relationships &
organizations…
Hierarchy of needs
Photo by Wilhelm Joys Anderson [link]
Experiments, risk-taking &
vulnerability
Learning, self-
awareness & change
Parallels in working groups,
relationships &
organizations…
Psychological safety, trust & intimacy
Hierarchy of needs
Photo by Wilhelm Joys Anderson [link]
Psychological safety, trust & intimacy
THE FOUNDATION
Safety, trust,intimacy
Safety, trust,intimacy
Safety = I won’t get hurt.
Trust = I believe you & you believe me.
Intimacy = We can make the private public.
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Safety
It’s OK to be vulnerable.
I’m open to criticism.
We can discuss emotional topics without fear.
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Trust
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Trust
I believe in your good intentions.
I know negative feedback is intended to help.
I accept positive feedback as genuine.
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Intimacy
I can tell you how I feel about you.
We can invite another person into the discussion.
We can have this discussion with the whole team.
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Practical steps
Get to know each other
Invest in relationships
Build “emotional bank accounts”
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Practical steps
Talk about emotions
Expand your comfort zone
Modify display rules
Safety, trust,intimacy & feedback
Practical steps
Make it OK to say “No”
Or at least “Not now”
Minimize threat response
Balance
Positive feedback
A paradox
So important
So often ineffective
What’s wrong?
Positive feedback
Lack of trust
We often praise the wrong things
Positive feedback
Often unsaid (Display rules)
We don’t practice We never improve
Balance over time is key
Positive feedback
Practical steps
Start small
Acknowledge & appreciate
When you do [X], I feel [Y].
Positive feedback
Practical steps
Praise effort & persistence
Not innate abilities
Builds resilience & determination
Positive feedback
Practical steps
Offer some positive feedback…and stop
Don’t praise to buffer criticism
Use a soft start instead
Normalcy
Photo by Marc Dalmulder [link]
Make feedback normal
Not a performance review
Leaders = Role models
Normalcy
Photo by Marc Dalmulder [link]
Practical steps
Don’t wait for special occasions
Work in public (riskier, more trust & intimacy)
Accountability
Photo by Hector Alejandro [link]
Accountability
Walking the talk
Leaders’ behavior is key
Accountability
Practical steps
Be transparent
Ask for feedback
(Subordinates won’t volunteer it)
Questions?
OCTOBER 17, 2012
To ask a question … click on the “question icon” in the lower-right corner of your screen.
@HBRExchange | #HBRwebinar
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