Close to 880,000 Londoners feel their most toxic relationship is with their line manager. And well over a million have taken time off work due to communication challenges with their boss.
These findings highlight the disconnect between how employees are actually feeling, and how everyone in people management today seems to be under pressure to be doing more with less. The relationship between improved relationships and performance has been widely studied, and as a former rugby team captain and a U20 national team player at the Portuguese Rugby Federation, I have seen firsthand the vital role that culture and coaching play in achieving organisational success.
The sports world can offer many valuable lessons for building a strong, connected workplace culture and boosting productivity and performance. Here are some key lessons from sports that can bolster business culture and performance.
Ongoing feedback
In sports like rugby, a high-performing culture revolves around constant coaching and feedback, not only during the game but also before and after it. Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for a coach to only have one yearly performance review with the players?
The key to success with ongoing feedback loops is that they can’t just call out areas for improvement, they also have to fundamentally ensure that what went well this week gets repeated next week. We need to be able to shine a light on the right behaviours, and recognise and celebrate them effectively. What gets recognised, gets repeated.
Continuous coaching ensures that players are consistently guided on how to improve their performance, whether through on-the-pitch coaching moments or one-on-one discussions.
Coaching is not easy, and effective coaches understand the importance of both public praise for great performance and private correction for areas in need of improvement. Sometimes that means shouting from the sidelines, other times it’s micro one-on-one counselling. By socialising recognition, and publicly acknowledging players’ successes, coaches are showing everyone else what ‘good’ looks like, and by privately addressing areas for growth, they help foster an environment of trust.
This principle holds true in the workplace as well, where regular feedback sessions can help employees feel recognised for their strengths and provide opportunities for coaching. Yet, in many companies, it’s still common for employees to receive feedback only once or twice a year. How can you really improve performance effectively this way?
Validation is crucial for motivation
Succeeding in a sport requires a great deal of physical effort – training in bad weather and pushing past discomfort. What motivates athletes to train hard, play hard, and go right back to training is the of validation of seeing measurable results and contributing to a shared goal. The feeling of progress and growth that we as humans are all chasing is very often driven by the feedback players get from managers, coaches, and teammates who can point out the progress that you’ve made.
Work is like sports training – putting in effort for a bigger goal. And just as in sports, it can be difficult for people to recognise their own progress, especially when focusing on the day-to-day work at hand. Someone from the outside – like a manager or colleague – recognising an employee’s contributions or subtle improvements goes a long way to validating their efforts and keeping them motivated.
But it isn’t just about keeping spirits high – positive feedback fuels performance. According to Workhuman-Gallup research, teams where recognition is an important part of workplace culture are almost 2x more likely to achieve excellent performance.
Feedback trifle, not sandwich
The ‘feedback sandwich’ is a well-known appraisal technique that involves sandwiching one criticism between two layers of praise. But research shows that this is far from the ideal ratio of praise to criticism. Harvard Business Review reports that in the highest-performing teams, the ratio is nearly six positive comments for every negative one. What’s more, the most significant differentiator between the most and least successful teams is the ratio of positive comments to negative ones.
In most organisations, when we think about feedback, we think about correcting behaviours. This constant loop of negativity inevitably makes communications between manager and employee a moment of tension, instead of an opportunity for growth. Building trust and rapport is essential for performance management. You need to show people that you care about them first, that you see their good work. People are much more open to constructive criticism when they feel valued and appreciated. Find more reasons to celebrate progress (even if small) and be less obsessed with telling everyone what they are doing wrong.
From an organisational standpoint, cultural changes are hard, but with the help of purpose-built technology and a strategic business-oriented approach, it is possible for all companies to truly make this a reality. Regardless of your starting point.
Culture for the win
What is good for Humans is good for the business, and the essence of continuous feedback is celebrating wins (behavioural or outcome-based), while also addressing challenges thoughtfully and openly. Whether on the playing field or in the workplace, hitting the sweet spot when it comes to communicating praise and criticism is the key to cultivating a resilient and high-performing culture.
By: Pedro de Mello, Enterprise Sales Executive, Workhuman
