Management Team Excercises

Management Team Exercises

One of the most important business management principles in any team
is to create an atmosphere where feedback can be exchanged in a
constructive manner. In our business coaching for entrepreneurs, we
create team exercises that make it easy for “360 degree feedback” to
be shared by all members of the team, including team leaders and
managers. The following is an exercise which you can use in your team:

Ask your team members to split up into teams of two. Ask them to pick a
partner, and choose who is to be A and who is to be B. You may also
want to participate so that your team members can feel that you are an
open minded manager, willing to also accept constructive feedback. You
can either facilitate the exercise, or appoint someone to facilitate for you if
you choose to participate in the exercise.

Set a timeline of 10 minutes per partner and make sure you have the
facilitator follow strict timelines to keep the exercise on track. Make sure
to provide a summary of the rules of engagement as follows:

Maintaining Silence

Encourage the partner A to take their time in providing feedback while
partner B remains silent. Partner B should resist the urge to reply with a
challenging answer. Partner B should quietly listen to the feedback while
maintaining eye contact and demonstrating an interest.

Paraphrasing

If the time allows, once partner A has finished with feedback, partner B
should reflect back the feedback that they heard. Paraphrasing shows
that partner B is listening and understanding!

Being Sensitive

Partner A should make sure to use positive language in their feedback
comments. This is not an action to dump on or criticize a fellow team
member, but rather a way to encourage improvement in personal
challenges. Acting sensitive to the needs of the person is important as
they may reject the feedback initially. Give the person space to think in
his/her time. This may help the person to absorb the feedback.

GIVING FEEDBACK

A will be providing feedback on B’s performance.

You will both be given role-play sheets of what has been going on and the
person you are to play.

After you have completed that, change roles and complete role-play 2.

What worked well?

What could have been done better?

What will you know for next time?

RECEIVING FEEDBACK

As long as feedback is given in a non-judgmental and appropriate way, it
is a valuable piece of information for learning and for continued personal
development.

Constructive feedback is critical for self-development and growth; here
are some points to bear in mind when you receive feedback.

1. Don’t shy away from constructive feedback, welcome it

2. Accept feedback of any sort for what it is – information

3. Evaluate the feedback before responding

4. Make your own choice about what you intend to do with the

information

The feedback emotional rollercoaster

Whether you are giving or receiving feedback it is useful to bare in mind
the following model when it comes to people who receive feedback.

D A W A

DENIAL
When people first receive feedback, they have a tendency to deny it.
Please avoid immediate defensiveness – arguing, denying and justifying.
This just gets in the way of your appreciation of the information you are
being given.

ANGER
After the denial stage comes anger! So you’ve been told that your work is
not as good as what it ought to be. You’ve said, “It’s as good as always”
so you are denying it then you become angry as it stews in your mind and
body. The immediate reaction is to fume!

WITHDRAWAL
After the anger has calmed down, the person has had time to reflect and
ponder on the feedback. “Well, I have been making more mistakes then
normal” This is when time is taken out to mull over the feedback and think
about what it actually means.

ACCEPTANCE
The final part of this model is finally accepting the feedback, assessing its
value and the consequences of ignoring it, or using it. “There ARE things I
can improve.”


                        Sophie Lapaire, President
                        Bridgemakers Consulting

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