Vicki Halsey - A Job Well Done is Its Own Reward…Not

In a recent 360 degree Feedback coaching session with a guy who is clearly a talented manager and completely decent human being, he saw that he needs to give more feedback, more coaching, and more praise in general. He said “It must be my background, I grew up on a farm, and in my family, a job well done was its own reward.” So true. So many high achievers didn’t get feedback themselves as they were rising through the ranks, so it never occurs to them to give it.

Everyone wants feedback – the good, the bad and the specific. I submit that all you have to do is pay attention and let people know what they are doing that is great – specifically – and what they might want to tweak. Jobs today are so complicated and often opaque, a job well done is often hard to define – it isn’t as obvious as a clean barn or a full truck. So it really is the manager’s job to help their people see what a good job looks like and then to assure when a good job has been done.