There's apparently been an outbreak of romping and stomping criticism in the last month or two because several of the questions that I have been getting have had to do with the possibility of an employee or applicant having a bad reaction to criticism.  I've selected one of the more typical questions for this month's feature.  Although the question deals with an applicant, I think my answer can be adapted for working with employees as well.

Here's The Question:

"I had a "Catch 22" type situation last week.  I had an applicant whose Objectivity rating was a "2."  As I understand it, this means that she is very sensitive and tends to take things personally, even things that are not intended as a personal attack.  I was at a loss as to how to probe on the issue of sensitivity without actually hurting her feelings.  Do you have any suggestions about what questions to ask a person with an Objectivity rating that low?"

And The Answer Is:

You are right in your understanding that a rating of "2" on Objectivity usually indicates a person who is thin-skinned and sensitive to what he or she perceives as personal attacks, whether they were intended as such or not.  One way to counteract such a tendency is to smile (sincerely, not like the Cheshire Cat) when you ask the follow-up questions suggested here.

People with low ratings on the Objectivity characteristic often regard what are neutral comments or events as having been intended to hurt them emotionally, and sometimes they even perceive verbal comments as having had the emotional effect of a physical assault.  They may describe slightly raised voices as "screaming" or as temper tantrums.  They are particularly susceptible to misunderstanding people who have a rating of "6" or higher on the Assertiveness characteristic, so if that is you, be particularly careful to frame your questions so that they are simply requests for information.  And SMILE, partner!

The job-related concern about a low Objectivity rating is that this person may make a habit of reacting negatively to constructive criticism or correction on the job.   Your interest, therefore, is in knowing whether this individual is aware enough of this tendency to be able to override it on the job.  A simple and straightforward way to find out is to ask the person to describe specific situations where he or she received feedback about job performance.  For example, you might ask,  "On your last job, how often did you get feedback on your performance?" and then follow up the answer by asking how much of that feedback felt like harsh criticism.  And what was it that made it feel like harsh criticism?

What You Don't Want To Hear

You don't want to hear any answer that sounds like, "Well, I can take criticism just fine, as long as it is constructive."   Although this sounds fine at first, it is too safe an answer; most people have no difficulty taking constructive criticism.  The challenge is with criticism that is given in the heat of the moment or by a person who is not concerned about hurting anyone's feelings.

You don't want to hear that the applicant is unable to avoid reacting emotionally and doesn't pay attention to the feedback he or she is receiving about the behavior that is being criticized.  This answer suggests that, for this person, criticism must be phrased in a way that he or she can interpret it as "constructive;" otherwise, it is seen as a personal attack.

What To Do

Follow up on general answers by asking, "What do you mean by 'constructive?'  Could you give me an example?"  Ask for specific examples of situations where the person felt unfairly criticized, and ask what he or she did about it.  Keep your replies neutral and non-judgmental, and smile and wait patiently until you believe you understand this person's reactions.

What You Want To Hear

The best possible answer to hear from anyone, with regard to criticism on the job, is that the person understands that it is one person's view of their behavior.  As such, there is usually at least one kernel of information in the criticism that is useful to the person being criticized.  The more that the person seems able to separate his or her emotional reaction to the way criticism is expressed from the information that could be useful, the better.

Charlie is unhappy.  He has two college degrees in his field, stays on top of new developments, and can solve any technical problem that comes up.  Yet he keeps getting passed over for promotions.  His way of dealing with the problem is to re-double his efforts to become even more technically proficient.  The problem is that this is the wrong approach to solving his problem.

How Do You Spell Success?

Success on the job is based on two competencies:  job proficiency (that is, how well you meet the formal requirements of your position) and interpersonal effectiveness (that is, how well you interact with superiors, peers, subordinates, suppliers and customers.)  Charlie has job proficiency down pat.  It is interpersonal effectiveness that is his problem.  It's not enough to be technically proficient, although it is necessary.  In order to be truly effective on the job, Charlie must also:

•        sell others on the value of his ideas
•        smoothly coordinate his efforts with the efforts of others
•        take and give criticism without offense.

The ability to do the above is a separate skill set from Charlie's job related knowledge, skills, and proficiencies.

People Skills Smooth The Way

If only it were true that all you have to do is build a better mousetrap, and the world would beat a path to your door!  It turns out that, once you've built the mousetrap, you've got to be able to describe it to others and convince them that they need it, plus communicate in numerous other situations in order to get your mousetrap displayed on the shelves of the local hardware store!  The skills that a person uses to communicate, describe, persuade, and get things accomplished by cooperating with others are called, loosely, "people skills."

Back To Charlie's Problem

In order to develop his people skills, Charlie will have to become aware of the need to do so and accept responsibility for doing the hard work of acquiring and polishing the necessary skills.   A good place for Charlie to start is with his Professional Development Guide, which is provided with the Performance Profile Report.  The Professional Development Guide will show him what he needs to work on and how to begin working on those issues.  The two-part Action Plan at the end of the Professional Development Guide provides a framework for defining the specific behaviors Charlie will have to improve.

If Charlie works for you, give him plenty of positive feedback about his efforts to improve, celebrate (appropriately) his successes, and help him understand what went wrong when his efforts don't work as well as he intended.  Remind him that this is an on-going process, not a time-bounded project, and that the goal of continued improvement is an attainable one, whereas the goal of never making a social slip-up is not.  And that is true for everyone.

The Work Attitude Questionnaire results do not prove or predict what an individual will do in the future with regard to the areas of employee theft, drug use that would affect job performance, workplace violence and sexual harassment tendencies.  The results show the individual's attitudes, all other factors being held equal, regarding the four risk areas.

Since attitudes strongly influence behavior, especially in the absence of clear instructions, rules, or structure, it's important to know what an applicant's attitudes are in these four areas so that you can make an informed decision about what to do next:  background checks, specific training in company policies, etc.  "The Importance of Appropriate Workplace Behavior" training and pledge document (click here for a sample) addresses all four areas of risk.  Use it to:

• provide a logical argument for appropriate workplace behavior
• define specific appropriate and inappropriate workplace behaviors
• have the applicant provide, in writing, his own reasons for appropriate behavior
• obtain a signed and dated Acknowledgement of Receipt statement
• obtain a signed and dated pledge to appropriate workplace behavior.