A newer employee debriefed an event with his boss and they bantered with some pretty tough critiques about what had happened. These weren’t visible shortcomings, but rather things they noticed from behind-the-scenes. As the review concluded, the supervisor counseled the employee not to share the harsh feedback with those who had just attended the event; “With them, we want to remain positive,” she said.
A few days later, the organization’s leader requested an action that the employee did not believe would work. The original lesson came to mind — and he knew that he must remain positive about the change and own it — telling his staff that “I” decided to try the new process rather than calling out the leader.
I love that the boss helped the newer employee to understand the influence he has on those who look up to him and reminded him to be intentional about the emotions and tone that he conveys to others. And because the employee internalized the lesson, he knew that he needed to take ownership in the second scenario and not let his misgivings trickle down to negatively impact his team.
It’s likely things could have played out differently if the supervisor had not been explicit with her initial teachings after the debrief. Especially with a newer employee, the natural reaction is to continue venting with others or at least to convey that there were problems, and it’s also plausible that there would be grumbling as the staff worked through a new process that did not make sense to the leader. Instead, a few minutes of intentional instruction mitigated a river of negativity now and imparted lessons that will pay dividends in the future.
If you are a supervisor, developing your staff is your most important job. Take those extra few minutes to be clear about your expectations — both what you want your employee to do and how you want them to act.
