Oi! I want a word with you
Featured in the Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers training manual
By Eddie Davies
Category: Communication Skills
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
One of the hardest interpersonal skills to put into practise at work is to confront someone over their poor performance or behaviour and give them feedback and constructive criticism. Yet for many people, and especially managers with responsibility for staff, it is an essential ingredient to ensure that they achieve their corporate goals at work. As with any skill, careful planning and preparation can enhance its application. Once this has been established, the giver needs to remember that the individual has rights in how they receive that feedback. This training activity provides a systematic way to handle any confrontational encounter enabling both parties to move on in a constructive manner.
You begin this training activity by leading a discussion to establish the consequences of not grasping the nettle and confronting poor or difficult performance. You also affirm that it is the individual’s responsibility to do this, regardless of the position they hold in their team. Through a group exercise the participants experience the concept of roles and responsibilities at work and help establish a ‘Bill of rights’ – a psychological contract that applies to both the manager and their staff. A further group exercise and discussion establishes some essential ground rules for giving and receiving feedback if it is to be constructive and helpful for both giver and receiver. In a face-to-face encounter, the participants next identify the key issues involved in preparing the environment, and themselves, before engaging in a discussion. They consider how to establish a procedure for conducting the discussion to make it constructive for the people involved. The training activity moves on to a conclusion with a major consolidation exercise that gives participants the opportunity to be, in turn, manager, subject of the criticism, and observer. Finally, you lead a plenary review that helps participants understand everything that happened in the scenario exercise and to plan to use their key learning points when they return to work.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to introduce participants to the essential elements of giving and receiving constructive criticism and feedback when confronting poor or difficult behaviour in the workplace.
- Themes:
- Assertiveness,
- Coaching,
- Communication,
- Counselling skills,
- Customer care,
- Influencing skills,
- Interpersonal skills,
- Interviewing skills,
- Introduction to effective management,
- Life and career planning,
- Managing meetings,
- Negotiating skills,
- Performance management,
- Project management,
- Sales training,
- Self-assessment,
- Self-development,
- Stress management,
- Supervisory skills,
- Team-building skills,
- Team development,
- Time management,
- Trainer development,
- Women into management,
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:50:00 |
| No of Pages: | 28 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers as either a stand-alone session on constructive criticism or to be used as part of a longer management development programme to improve the interpersonal skills of the participants.
Download the training activity, Oi! I want a word with you as featured in the Fenman training manual; Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers