A Good Leader Learns How To Give Criticism To Her Team    

(Listen to it here.)

Beware of some advice. Many people will tell you to deliver a criticism in Sandwich Style. That’s the: Start with a compliment, give the criticism, end with a compliment. I say, “Wait a minute, that may not be a great idea for many women—especially for a woman who’s dreading delivering a criticism.” She may be so uncomfortable with the situation that she lays on the top slice—the beginning positive comment, so heavy it’s like a piece of bread overslathered with mayo—it grabs your attention.

Then, while the employee should be concentrating on the reason for the encounter—a problem—she’s marveling about how nice she feels about what her boss just said. The boss next delivers the criticism and then pads the ending slice with extra mayo as she exits the employee out of the office, satisfied that the problem has been handled.

I think you can see what happens next. The boss feels good that she padded on the nice stuff. The employee feels good about the encounter and assumes her boss must not be upset about that little thing in the middle.

My advice is a form of Sandwich Style, but I call it the Open-Face Sandwich Style of Delivering Criticism.

Call the employee into your office. If you first setup an appointment to meet, it adds weight to the meeting. Take a few seconds to pause, and don’t do any of those reassuring big smiles. You know, the fake smiles that come upon us when we’re nervous or uncomfortable. We especially throw the guys off with those because they don’t do all that smiling and nodding as often as we do.

Let the employee know what the problem is. Tell her who it’s affecting or how it’s affecting the company. At this point, you may choose to discuss possible solutions with her or instruct her to think it over and come back to you later with her ideas.

Because it will make everyone feel a little better, end with a compliment—a sincere compliment about something she’s doing right. Flip it over, and that’s the bottom piece of bread in the Open-Face Sandwich Style of Delivering Criticism.

I’ve received emails asking for more scripts that you can follow when you need a backup. My Women in Business Tip of the Week gives you that.

Now here it is.

Women in Business Tip of the Week:

Start in immediately along the lines of, “I called you in today because there’s a problem we need to discuss and we need to agree on a solution.”

Tell her what the problem is. Tell her the ramifications of the problem. Is it affecting other people? Is it affecting business? Is it affecting the company’s image?

Next, say, “What solution do you propose? Is there another possible solution as well?”

Pick the one that sounds best to you.

Then, “When will you start working on this solution? How long will it take you to correct the situation and eliminate this problem?”

Finish up with, “You professionally handled the X project right on schedule, so I anticipate that you’ll handle this equally well. Please come back in one week to give me an update on this problem. Thank you.”

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Women in Business.

Further Reading:

Website, WomensMedia, by Pat Heim with Susan Golant, Making the Most of Criticism and Praise

Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Be Confident, Cover Your Self-Doubt —Use Confident Language That Says, “I Can Do It!”or listen to it here.

Podcast (always about 5 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Smart Women Interrupt When They Need To —Don’t Wait! Be A Smart Woman And  Interrupt.or read it here.

Website, WomensMedia, by Lynea Corson Hadley, Not Reaching Your Goals Fast Enough? —One of these blocks may be holding you back.

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