office politics

5 ways to use negative feedback to your advantage

Naren Sankar — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:14:28 +0000

5 ways to use negative feedback to your advantage Naren Sankar

We’ve all been there – having to grapple with criticism, no matter what rung of the professional ladder we’re on. Hearing that your work may not be up to par is universally jarring. However, after a few decades in business, I’ve learned that this feedback is not to be dreaded, but rather, it is a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. It’s all about how we interpret and react that makes the difference. So, let’s unpack how we can transform the way we handle challenging feedback and turn it into a powerful tool for personal and professional development.

1. Learn to View Feedback as a Growth Opportunity

It’s easy to feel hurt when you hear something negative about your work. But I try to look at it differently. That critique is just a spotlight on areas where I can do better. It’s like someone giving you a roadmap to become the best version of yourself. They’re showing you where you can grow and excel, and it’s an amazing opportunity for personal and professional growth.

2. Avoid Defensive Reactions

We tend to get defensive when we hear something negative about ourselves. It is human nature. I’ve been there. But it’s also the quickest way to block your growth.

3. Get Clarification and Follow-up

Make sure you really understand the feedback. If anything’s unclear, don’t be shy to ask for clarification. The first step in making the most of feedback is truly listening to what it says.

4. Engage in Self-Reflection

I often find that the advice pushes me into some self-reflection. It makes you think about what you did right and what you did wrong. It’s a spark that gets you exploring and reflecting on how you can be better.

One crucial thing, though, is to be constructive with yourself. So don’t dwell too much on the negatives; look at what the feedback teaches you and how you can improve.

5. Make a Motivating Plan and Stick With It

Once you’ve taken the feedback on board, the key point is to then switch quickly towards making a clear plan. I will often push the feedback to the back of my mind and put all my focus forward. This plan should be positive yet simple, with strengths as well as development areas and some clear actions you can easily execute on a daily or monthly basis. Then, of course, you need to be disciplined with yourself to genuinely stick with the plan.

It’s not easy to go through this process, but extremely rewarding when you see the results.

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Andy Bentote

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You vs your colleagues: How to handle internal promotions

Naren Sankar — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 06:35:41 +0000

You vs your colleagues: How to handle internal promotions Naren Sankar

When an opportunity for promotion arises at work, employees may be pitted against each other as they vie for the same chance. Regardless of whether you are friendly with those colleagues you’re competing against or if another peer has been there longer than you have and therefore seems to be the obvious choice, it’s realistic that the process can get uncomfortable, knowing that one of you will miss out.

In contrast, the other gets a shiny new opportunity, a title change and probably a pay rise to go with it.

Whether you’re the one who gets the job or the one who misses out, how you conduct yourself before, during and after the internal promotion process can have a long-lasting impact on team cohesion, employee engagement and how your colleagues and manager perceive you.

The many benefits of internal promotions

Employers often prefer to promote internally rather than pursue external hires because promoting internal candidates fosters a sense of loyalty and motivation among existing employees. Recognising and rewarding their hard work and dedication through promotions instils a sense of pride and encourages others to strive for advancement within the business.

Internal promotions result in a shorter learning curve and faster integration into the new role than external hiring. Internal talent is already familiar with the company culture, processes, and values, reducing the time required for training and adaptation.

Internal hires ensure continuity and stability within the business. Employers can maintain consistency in decision-making, knowledge transfer, employee development and succession planning by promoting employees who have already demonstrated their capabilities and understanding of the company’s operations.

Promoting internally also boosts employee morale and engagement. Successful internal promotions convey that growth and advancement opportunities exist within the organisation, motivating employees to perform at their best and invest in their career growth. Human resources departments are crucial in facilitating and overseeing your promotion journey.

Put your best foot forward for the promotion

Internal promotions at work can mean some awkwardness between yourself and colleagues, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put your best foot forward when applying for the role. Firstly, do not compare yourself to your colleagues.

Also, avoid downplaying your capabilities or feeling like you can’t speak highly of yourself in front of your peers. If you want the role, ensure you focus on your key achievements and abilities and how you can demonstrate that you’re the right person for the promotion.

Like any other job interview, planning is key: make sure you have talking points prepared that showcase your contribution to the company and aptitude to take on the role and its responsibilities. Also, prepare some interview questions to understand better the next steps in the hiring process and anything else that will help you determine whether this opportunity is right for you.

If you get the promotion

Congratulations! The most important thing to remember now is to be gracious and sensitive to your co-workers’ potential sense of defeat. This doesn’t mean you should pity them or make a show of consoling them – that kind of attention will likely make them feel worse.

Depending on how close you are to the colleague passed over, you may want to reach out and offer your consolation. However, it would be best to be careful how you phrase this to avoid being condescending or insincere.

A good approach is to send an email to the entire team (after the announcement of your promotion has officially been made), thanking management for this new opportunity and acknowledging that you were up against strong competition in your colleagues – and that you’re looking forward to working together to achieve success.

If you miss out on internal promotions

As disappointing as it might be that you missed out, don’t let this affect your performance in your current role. Instead, use the opportunity to get a clear idea of the areas you need to work on and a fresh perspective to take the next step.

As with any interview process, it is completely reasonable to seek feedback on why you weren’t selected, and this can act as your ‘cheat sheet’ on the skills you need to build up or areas where you need to increase your experience to be a viable candidate next time around.

Then set a time to speak with your manager and discuss where there are opportunities for you to gain this additional experience. You might even be able to structure a promotion timeline to check whether you’re on the right path regularly.

There may not necessarily be immediate future growth opportunities within the framework of your current role or company. But this means you need to be extra proactive about internal promotion opportunities at specific times of the year. Otherwise, you may need to consider taking up a new job at another company if your current business cannot provide you with professional growth and your next career step within a reasonable period.

Importantly, try to feel genuinely happy for your colleague. This can be hard, understandably, so try asking yourself, ‘Is this something I could achieve too?’ In addition, your future promotion could put you in the same reporting line as your colleague who was successful this time around, which means it’s going to benefit you to have a good working relationship with them now; plus, they could be your biggest advocate if a spot opens up. They think of you as being the right fit.

Furthermore, you should still recognise your efforts, especially if you made it to the final two or three candidate shortlist. This achievement can be a great motivator and can stop any negative feelings from taking over, encouraging you to move on and focus on what’s important for you to work on right now to be successful the next time there’s an internal promotion.

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Sick leave and your bottom line: How to manage workplace absences

Anonymous — Tue, 31 May 2016 02:37:24 +0000

Sick leave and your bottom line: How to manage workplace absences Anonymous (not verified)

Employee absence is often one of the biggest non-recoverable costs to businesses. It can lead to delays in task delivery and project completion, failures in communication and a loss of trust between employer and employee if frequent or long-term absences aren't adequately explained.

These issues are compounded by increasingly lean workforces that may find it difficult to absorb the workload of absent colleagues, or who may grow resentful if they are made to do so frequently or for long periods at a time.

For these reasons, managing absence should be an important priority for employers, but is one that needs to be handled carefully, taking into account the circumstances of the absence and the employee's personal history.

Provide clarity upfront

Every organisation should have a clear policy for how different kinds of leave are managed and the responsibilities an employee has in terms of providing notice and documentation around absences.

Are workers expected to call if they plan to be absent or will an email or text suffice? What is the threshold for when a doctor's certificate is required? Ensure that your policy covers all these kinds of questions and make sure it is covered in all induction materials and made available to employees via the company intranet.

We all accept that some sickness absence is inevitable and most absences are genuine, but simply having to call in at a set time and speak to their manager can discourage the employee who “doesn’t like Mondays”.

Short-term absences

This will be the most frequent kind of absence employers have to manage, and is also the kind most likely to be abused by workers wanting to take a 'sickie' or sick day. This is where your clear-cut policies will come into play, and as long as workers meet the criteria you've laid out for them, it’s easiest to simply accept the absence and move on with your day.

However, monitoring short-term absence, targeting those whose absence shows a pattern and ensuring that the correct recording and reporting procedures are followed can help reduce the risk of abuse and ensure that any underlying issues are exposed without too much damage to your bottom line.

For many managers, having a conversation with an employee about their absence can be uncomfortable and challenging

Long-term absences

Long- term absence cases can be more difficult, with many involving employees who have long- term health conditions, many of whom are long serving and highly valued. When they do need to take time off due to illness, a holistic approach to managing their absence, including their manager, HR, occupational health and external agencies, can ensure that they return to work as quickly as possible and with any adjustments they need already in place.

However, there will be cases where a return to work isn’t possible and these cases need to be managed to a conclusion as quickly and sensitively as possible. This means ensuring that the business follows both internal and legislative processes, whilst at the same time making sure that the employee continues to feel supported and valued.

For many managers having a conversation with an employee about their absence can be uncomfortable and challenging. They often don’t have the necessary skills to manage absence, so upskilling them is key to bringing absence rates down, with the resulting cost benefits to the business. How many managers, when conducting a return to work interview, have taken the employee to one side and said “let’s just say we’ve done this interview and I’ll tick the box”? This creates a barrier to managing absence and can impact on the attendance culture within the organisation. Line managers tend to know their employees better than anyone and so are key players in managing their attendance.

Addressing absence trends

Once the absence trends have been identified measures can be put in place to address them. There’s no point having a market leading approach to managing stress and anxiety if 90% of sickness absence cases are related to musculoskeletal disorders! Understanding the reasons for absence allows you to develop a proactive approach, based on preventing absence in the first place. This leaves you able to concentrate resources on the unavoidable absence cases.

Early intervention and ongoing management of absence cases is the key to achieving a rapid and sustained improvement. For example, an early referral for counselling to an employee assistance programme can minimise the absence of an employee who is absent for mental health reasons. Similarly, an in house physio service can mean a return to work quicker. This individualised approach, together with regular reviews of exiting absence cases, brings absence rates down, with the resulting impact on costs.

Greg Tadman

Summary

Employers should make managing absences an important priority in order to minimise the impact to team engagement and cohesion, and your bottom line:

Ensure your organisation has a clear policy around how different kinds of leave are managed and responsibilities an employee has in terms of providing notice and documentation around absences
Monitor short-term absences to try and pick up any patterns which could signal abuse
Long-term absences should be managed on a case-by-case basis with sensitivity and regard for the individual's personal circumstances
Use an 'early intervention' approach when addressing absence trends

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office politics

5 ways to use negative feedback to your advantage

1. Learn to View Feedback as a Growth Opportunity

2. Avoid Defensive Reactions

3. Get Clarification and Follow-up

4. Engage in Self-Reflection

5. Make a Motivating Plan and Stick With It

Join over 60,000 readers!

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Topics

Popular Articles

You vs your colleagues: How to handle internal promotions

The many benefits of internal promotions

Put your best foot forward for the promotion

If you get the promotion

If you miss out on internal promotions

Join over 60,000 readers!

Job Match

Topics

Popular Articles

Sick leave and your bottom line: How to manage workplace absences

Provide clarity upfront

Short-term absences

Long-term absences

Addressing absence trends

Summary

I need to hire

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