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44FeedbackHOW AND WHY TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO EMPLOYEES; AND KEEP THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CONSTRUCTIVEMotivating employees is about more than charisma and vision. To help employees perform their best, a great leader will provide feedback %u2014 the right kind, at the right time. Feedback is an essential tool for any manager, whether in a small business or a large corporation.Just as it needs blood, oxygen, and nutrients, the brain needs to receive comments about how it%u2019s doing. Feedback works on the emotional system in the brain. And it activates more than the raw emotional centre; it enables the brain to use higher-level thinking skills to decide how to continue doing good work, make the good work better, or make changes to garner more positive responses and work harder toward company goals. Your leadership skills rely heavily on your ability to give and receive feedback.Feed employees%u2019brains by trying some of the following:Be speci%uf001c and timely. You want to comment while the task is still in the mind of the employee. Doing so is of particular importance if you%u2019re working toward a speci%uf001c goal and you want to keep the momentum going.Speci%uf001c feedback more effectively corrects or reinforces certain behaviours, enabling the brain to focus on something concrete, which it does do not from an %u201cAtta boy!%u201d type of reinforcement. If you decide to congratulate employees as a group, be sure to talk to each one personally as well. Remember %u00b7 Fit the feedback to the person.Once in a while, you need to provide a %u201cpat on the back%u201d of some sort or in some cases a %u201ckick in the pants%u201d in a subtle yet supportive way. For such feedback to be truly motivational, provide it in a way that is best suited to the recipient.For instance, if you know your employee likes to hear praise and be praised in front of others, say something loud and clear. Other employees may prefer that you literally (and quietly) pat them on the back as you pass by. Some employees may even respond best to written feedback.%u00b7 Connect your feedback to company goals.Goals help the brain focus. Make your employee feel that her contributions are valued and create a positive emotion with the feedback. Some employers want to encourage competition, and so they ensure that the entire organization or department sees how everyone is doing. For example, in the customer service department, they post charts with the number of service calls and satis%uf001ed customers for each customer service representative. Aquick glance at the ongoing status of each representative may inspire those not living up to the goal of service and satisfaction.%u00b7 Set up a schedule for follow-up conversations. Aquick memo or e-mail can easily be misinterpreted, so continued Dipinti JaysawalManager (HR)HRD, DVC