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O P I N I O N
Giving feedback
“If you approach feedback from the standpoint that you are trying to help your people – even if it is negative – most will appreciate you.”
G iving feedback to your employees is a major part of your job as a leader of an AEC firm. It is not a pleasant job and may have a negative connotation, but it is necessary nevertheless if you want your people to do better and your company to prosper. It is something that, in my experience, architects and engineers – and probably most other people – don’t like to do or don’t do well.
Mark Zweig
opportunity for our people to improve. It cannot all be delivered personally, either. You may need to talk on the phone or send a text or email at times. Everyone is busy and – in many firms – traveling, and it is unrealistic to think you can always do this face-to-face. ❚ ❚ Your HR people will still insist you do your written annual or semi-annual reviews. So that means you have to do these. But they should not yield any “[Feedback] is something that, in my experience, architects and engineers – and probably most other people – don’t like to do or don’t do well.”
Here are my thoughts: ❚ ❚ The purpose of your feedback is not to make people feel good. There was a recent Harvard Business Review article on this topic that dispelled this common misperception. The real purpose is to help people improve. You have to keep this in mind. Too many people want to beat around the bush and don’t honestly confront what needs to be discussed. This isn’t helping you or the employee. You don’t want to insult people but you do have to be straight with them. ❚ ❚ Continuous feedback is necessary. You cannot wait until the annual or semi-annual review time to deliver feedback. It should be provided continuously throughout the year. Again, this isn’t the tendency for most of us. We hesitate and procrastinate, and, in the process, delay (or possibly miss) the
See MARK ZWEIG, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER November 4, 2019, ISSUE 1319
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