Charles just witnessed Virginia deliver a sales presentation. She did well. In fact, he is anxious to share praise with her, as well as to give her some constructive feedback. Charles likes helping professionals grow and achieve great results. When an appropriate moment presents itself, Charles takes Virginia to the side and says: “You did a great job!” She beams. “In fact,” he adds, “with just a little tweaking, you’ve got a world-class presentation on your hands.” Her upper lip twitches slightly, but she maintains eye contact. Charles then launches into five brief pieces of constructive criticism. Everything he shares is insightful and it is delivered with a professional tone. By the delivery of the third item Virginia has shut down. She suddenly looks dejected and hears nothing more. Charles walks away from the conversation confused and feeling like Virginia is just not interested in growing her skills.
Have you ever been on either side of this example? Most of us have – numerous times. So what gives? How can this scenario have a positive end? The answer lies in a mathematical ratio, understanding human nature, and in using proper feedback technique. Let’s begin with human nature.
A study conducted by the Gallop organization scientifically proved that when seeking to improve, every culture in the world focuses on their weaknesses. For example, if you play tennis and your backhand is the weak part of your game, you probably spend most of your practice time attempting to improve your backhand. In a way, this makes sense. The Gallop study also concluded however, what makes us good is not always compensating for weaknesses, but rather improving our strengths. And our strengths often flow to us effortlessly. To use the tennis example, if you have a great forehand, your practice time is best spent taking your forehand to a higher and higher level. In other words, accentuate the positive!
Perhaps you are thinking: ‘This is all well and good for tennis, but what about the business world?’ As leaders if our nature is to focus on weaknesses, but we maximize improvement by focusing on positives, we must find a method to highlight and encourage strengths without ignoring adjustments that will mitigate weaknesses. This leads us to technique or a construct that improves people’s receptiveness to feedback and, in turn, breaks down walls that prevent leaders from sharing feedback. What is this marvelous tool? Well, it is a simple construct called Plus / Deltas.
As one might surmise, Pluses refer to positive work behaviors that are observed. A Plus sounds like this: “Virginia, I really liked the tone of voice you used during that meeting. The customer seemed at ease with your presentation as a result.”
On the flipside we have Deltas. The word Delta comes from the Greek word for change. So when we are sharing Deltas with others we are not necessarily saying something negative, rather we are suggesting that something could change or be different. A Delta sounds like this: “Virginia, when you leaned forward while asking for an additional piece of business it seemed liked the customer backed away. How could that portion of the meeting have been different?”
Please take note that both the Plus and Delta examples were very specific. This is an important designation – as much as possible, attempt to be specific with your feedback items.
Now for the math portion of the program. The math I am referring to is not complicated – nothing more than a ratio really, but for whatever reason there appears to some magic in the ratio 3:1. What does this mean? The answer is: attempt to use three Pluses for every one Delta. My experience has shown that by following a simple feedback rule of delivering three Pluses to each Delta, the Delta actually sticks. That’s right. People are more receptive to altering one piece of behavior or performance when you have taken the time to clearly notice three things that they are doing right. In addition, a three to one ratio of Pluses to Deltas keeps things positive. If the right people are hired in the first place it should be easy to stroke them more than you tweak them.
Charles is now ready to implement his enhanced feedback strategy with his team. How often should Charles share feedback? Well, if he wants a high performing team, he should consider sharing feedback daily. Are there exceptions to his using the Plus / Delta system? The answer is absolutely! Let’s list some:
- He observes or is made aware of a team member who is really screwing up. These instances call for an emphasis on discussing the wrong behavior, coupled with details on how it negatively impacts the team, and what type of behavior and actions he expects in the future.
- One of Charles’ staff members sees things in absolutes. In other words, she wants positives or negatives – but never the twain shall meet. In these instances share feedback in a manner consistent to how the staff member is wired: only Pluses or only Deltas.
- Charles’ experience shows that different language resonates better with certain staff members. For instance, someone might like to hear ‘pros and cons,’ or ‘positive and constructive.’ Certainly it makes sense for him to use vocabulary that best connects with his people.
Here is the bottom line: as leaders we must share feedback with our teams on a regular basis. Importantly, we should share feedback in a manner that delivers the best probability of improved results. By continually enhancing outcomes we grow our people and better satisfy our customers in the process.