Tell Me How I'm Doing: A Fable about the Importance of Giving Feedback

By Richard L. Williams

Book Overview

This book illustrates the importance of feedback using a simple fable in which a beleaguered manager recognizes the enormous impact feedback can have in his organization...by experiencing firsthand what it feels like to go without it.

Tell Me How I'm Doing provides step-by-step guidance for how you can improve your own ability to relate to the people around you and become more effective in every sphere of your life. This guide helps you take a personal inventory of your own feedback style, and introduces you to the four distinct types of feedback -- supportive, corrective, abusive, and insignificant -- and clarifies when to use the first two, and how to avoid the others.

You'll also learn about the ten essential dimensions of feedback, including how to:

Use a Plan -- Give your feedback some preparatory thought, and then deliver it with a clear solution in mind.Be Specific -- Get your point across by citing particular examples of the behavior you're discussing.Focus on Behaviors -- Target the factors that can be seen or measured, rather than concentrating on personalities, attitudes, or labels.Determine Time and Place -- Know when and where to give feedback for maximum effect.Give Balanced Feedback -- Provide the right mix of supportive and corrective feedback.

By understanding how to interact more constructively with your peers, you can create a positive, productive, and dynamic culture that serves everyone well. Tell Me How I'm Doing is an engaging story and an essential guidebook for understanding how to use feedback to communicate goals, improve performance, and achieve greater success in every aspect of your life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081440930X
• ISBN13: 9780814409305
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: AMACOM
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

People Want to Know How They are Doing

This is a business novel or fable which tells you two things up front: 1. The book will be a quick read (I read it in a little over an hour). 2. The book will be an easy read. For some people that is recommendation enough if the topic is one of interest to them! I admit that I like the genre because I read so little fiction that it feels like a pleasant change to read prose in more of a story form. While this book has a story, the story itself isn't as compelling as some others like it have been. But the content is outstanding. I have taught people and teams about feedback. I have worked hard to get better at it myself. I have read and recommended other books on the topic, but now, my understanding is deeper and broader than it was before. This book has me thinking about very specific situations where I can do a significantly better job giving feedback, and it has given me the desire to make those changes. If you are a leader, supervisor, teacher, trainer or parent you should read this book. The concepts described aren't rocket science but they are described and explained in a way that you will find very valuable.