http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2005/11/give-feedback-directly.html Management, especially good management, is hard to do. This blog is for people who want to think about how they manage people, projects, and risk. Fri, 18 May 2012 15:02:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2005/11/give-feedback-directly.html/comment-page-1#comment-235 Madeline Thimmes Thu, 17 Nov 2005 02:01:33 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8099#comment-235 Once upon a time, a long time ago, I had a male subordinate who had body odor – mostly not bathing enough or changing underwear enough and flatulence. I spoke with the company nurse who tried to assess the problem a desk-length distance from this person, which was much different than working elbow to elbow as was the case in the working environment. She found no problem. Right. But I continued to get complaints. So one day I asked this employee to stay a few minutes late. (We worked in an open environment, so I didn’t want others to know I had spoken to him. To protect myself, I asked a male supervisor to stay late in his unit’s work area so that he could be a witness but not hear the conversation.) It was a toughy and was said with downcast eyes and embarrassment on the cheeks. My approach was: “There have been complaints about body odor. This is the industrial standard – a bath or shower everyday with a change of underwear. White clothes are worn one day before being washed, dark clothes are worn two. Watch the beans and the tuna as they cause gas. Thanks for staying late.” We never talked about this again until I left the company. In the meantime he had been promoted. On that last day he came to me and thanked me for giving the advice I had given even though it was a difficult subject. Once upon a time, a long time ago, I had a male subordinate who had body odor – mostly not bathing enough or changing underwear enough and flatulence. I spoke with the company nurse who tried to assess the problem a desk-length distance from this person, which was much different than working elbow to elbow as was the case in the working environment. She found no problem. Right. But I continued to get complaints. So one day I asked this employee to stay a few minutes late. (We worked in an open environment, so I didn’t want others to know I had spoken to him. To protect myself, I asked a male supervisor to stay late in his unit’s work area so that he could be a witness but not hear the conversation.) It was a toughy and was said with downcast eyes and embarrassment on the cheeks. My approach was: “There have been complaints about body odor. This is the industrial standard – a bath or shower everyday with a change of underwear. White clothes are worn one day before being washed, dark clothes are worn two. Watch the beans and the tuna as they cause gas. Thanks for staying late.”
We never talked about this again until I left the company. In the meantime he had been promoted. On that last day he came to me and thanked me for giving the advice I had given even though it was a difficult subject.

]]> http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2005/11/give-feedback-directly.html/comment-page-1#comment-234 Chet Frame Wed, 16 Nov 2005 19:15:26 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8099#comment-234 Giving feedback requires confidence on the part of the giver. I was once asked by my supervisor to give him feedback on his performance. I took three days and prepared my list of positives and negatives and made sure they were intermixed and balanced. I went to the appointment we had set and gave my boss an honest evaluation. It made our relationship so much better, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It created an open line of communication between us that we pushed out to include other colleagues, but the risk that we both took was pretty large. the reward made the risk worthwhile. Giving feedback requires confidence on the part of the giver. I was once asked by my supervisor to give him feedback on his performance. I took three days and prepared my list of positives and negatives and made sure they were intermixed and balanced. I went to the appointment we had set and gave my boss an honest evaluation. It made our relationship so much better, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It created an open line of communication between us that we pushed out to include other colleagues, but the risk that we both took was pretty large. the reward made the risk worthwhile.

]]> http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2005/11/give-feedback-directly.html/comment-page-1#comment-233 Jack Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:55:36 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8099#comment-233 Bruno, did you consider reading the blog before reacting? Bruno, did you consider reading the blog before reacting?

]]> http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2005/11/give-feedback-directly.html/comment-page-1#comment-232 Bruno Wed, 16 Nov 2005 08:14:04 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8099#comment-232 I saw your blog and I thought that perhaps you could send your co-worker an anonymous e-mail to my site. The bad breath products work great and I am sure that this will solve your work place problem. I saw your blog and I thought that perhaps you could send your co-worker an anonymous e-mail to my site. The bad breath products work great and I am sure that this will solve your work place problem.

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