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Overcoming the Fear of Giving Difficult Feedback

The Business Mechanic Podcast with Vaughn Sigmon

Release Date: 08/01/2023

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Welcome to The Business Mechanic podcast. In today's episode, we'll be discussing "Overcoming the Fear of Giving Difficult Feedback: A Guide for Managers."

Here's a preview of what we'll be discussing:

  1. Understanding the Impact of a Lack of Feedback: We'll explore the negative consequences of not providing feedback to your team members, such as fostering a low trust environment, and discuss the importance of providing consistent and constructive feedback.

  2. Challenging Binary Thinking: We'll tackle the harmful assumptions about feedback, and how this binary thinking - seeing feedback as either wholly negative or positive - hinders effective communication and team dynamics.

  3. Seeing Feedback as a Tool: We delve into the importance of recognizing feedback as a tool for growth, understanding the crucial role it plays in a team's success, and how to bridge the feedback gap between managers and employees.

  4. Lack of Feedback and Its Effects: We'll discuss the significant impact of a lack of feedback on employee engagement, productivity, and trust, backed by findings from studies by Gallup, ClearCompany, Interact Studio, and Harvard Business Review.

  5. Anticipating Eventualities: How can managers overcome the fear of reactions and handle negative scenarios that may arise from feedback? We discuss how anticipation and preparation can aid in confidently navigating these situations.

  6. Starting Strong: We'll emphasize the importance of setting the right tone from the beginning of feedback conversations and share tips on how to open these conversations positively and constructively.

  7. Make Feedback Part of the Process: We'll explore the importance of integrating feedback as a regular practice to prevent minor issues from escalating and to help managers become more skilled and confident in delivering feedback.

  8. Conclusion: Wrapping up the discussion, we'll highlight the importance of feedback in team growth and organizational success and encourage managers to embrace feedback as a key part of their role.

Throughout the episode, I'll also share insights from my own leadership experience and recommend resources for further reading, including my book, "A Roadmap to Difficult Conversations."

Stay tuned and join us in empowering your team to reach their full potential through constructive feedback.

 

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