Delivering impactful feedback, both constructive and critical, is crucial for nonprofit leaders who strive to cultivate a motivated and high-performing team. In the nonprofit sector, where every team member’s contribution can significantly affect the organization’s mission, providing feedback that highlights areas for improvement and points out specific issues is vital.
This process addresses areas for improvement and empowers employees to grow and excel, ultimately enhancing the overall effectiveness and impact of the nonprofit. These four impactful strategies will help nonprofit leaders understand why their feedback might not resonate with their team and how to refine their approach to inspire a growth mindset and success.
How to Deliver Critical Feedback to Unlock the Full Potential of Underperforming Nonprofit Team Members
Imagine you are managing a team at a nonprofit organization, and one member consistently underperforms. Despite being bright and having high potential, something is holding them back. You’ve heard positive comments from colleagues about your team member’s work ethic; however, despite your efforts, the critical feedback you’ve provided to the underperforming staff member hasn’t resulted in significant improvement. You might feel frustrated and consider placing them on a performance plan, a structured process that outlines specific steps for improvement and consequences for not meeting those steps. Before taking that step, consider that the issue might not be their potential but how they interpret your feedback. The consequences of ineffective feedback include decreased morale, increased turnover, and a negative impact on the team’s overall performance. However, there is hope. By understanding the potential of your underperforming team members and refining your feedback approach, you can inspire a growth mindset and success.
The key may lie in how your feedback is intended and received. There is a significant difference between someone receiving feedback negatively—thinking, “I’m not good enough for this role”—and seeing it as an opportunity to learn and improve.
Here is a step-by-step approach to bridge this gap and help transform untapped potential into performance:
Build a Foundation of Trust
Before feedback can be effective, managers must establish trust. Research shows that feedback is most effective when there is a strong foundation of mutual trust. A Gallup Panel survey found that only 23% of U.S. employees firmly trust their organization’s leadership, indicating that trust issues are widespread and can severely impact feedback effectiveness.
As a nonprofit leader, it’s not just crucial; it’s paramount to build trust with your team members to ensure the effectiveness of your feedback.
Lack of trust can disrupt the feedback process in any setting, including nonprofits. Employees may question the motives behind feedback, especially if they believe it stems from preconceived notions about their abilities. The Gallup Panel survey mentioned above supports this, indicating that trust issues are widespread and can severely impact feedback effectiveness.
To build trust:
- Be Consistent: Ensure that you treat all team members fairly, both high performers and low performers. Consistency reduces uncertainty and stress, boosting confidence. You can achieve this by setting clear expectations for all team members, providing regular feedback, and ensuring that rewards and recognition are based on merit.
- Support Development: Engage in conversations about career goals with all team members, not just top performers. Show that you care about their future, regardless of current performance.
- Show Appreciation: Regularly acknowledge the efforts of all team members. Leaders can do this through simple gestures like a ‘thank you’ note or public recognition during a team meeting. Recognition helps build trust and shows that you value their contributions.
Clarify Expectations
Often, team members may need clarification on what their manager expects regarding job duties, performance, communication, and timeliness. Without clearly expressed expectations, this can lead to confusion, frustration, and underperformance. Another recent Gallup poll found that less than half of employees know what is expected of them at work. Ensure that your underperforming team member clearly understands their role and your expectations to avoid these potential consequences.
For instance, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario. If a team member, Tim, consistently submits sub-par work, his supervisor, Helen, should first acknowledge any past misunderstandings or time constraints that led her to revise his work herself. Helen should reset the relationship by clarifying expectations and ensuring Tim knows what is required for success. Resetting expectations and ensuring those expectations are understood can be done by having one-on-one conversations with Tim, where Helen clearly outlines the quality and quantity of work expected from him and the specific areas where he needs to improve.
Convey High Standards and Confidence
Once trust is established, provide feedback that communicates high expectations and confidence in the team member’s ability to meet them. Combining high expectations with a genuine belief in their potential helps frame feedback positively.
To illustrate this, Helen can tell Tim, “I’m sharing these comments because we both have high expectations, and I am confident you can meet them. I want to see you succeed, and I am here to support you.”
Provide Support and Follow-Up
Support is a key element in the feedback process. As a leader, it’s your duty to provide guidance and resources to your team members. Ensure that they have the tools and time to improve. Your role continues beyond providing feedback. It’s your duty to follow up on their progress and provide ongoing support to reinforce their growth and development. Your commitment to their success is what will make the difference.
Effective feedback in a nonprofit setting depends on trust, mutual understanding, and clear communication of expectations. By fostering trust, clarifying roles, conveying high standards, and providing ongoing support, nonprofit leaders can help their team members realize their full potential and contribute more effectively to the organization’s mission.
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The information contained in this article is not a substitute for legal advice or counsel and has been pulled from multiple sources.
(Images by The Yuri Arcurs Collection and EyeEm)
