Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be ~ John Wooden

Have you ever noticed how some criticism can play havoc with your hearing and scrambles your brain? Words are suddenly hard to decipher and the ego is instantly drawing up offensive plays to counter act the severe disapproval. It becomes almost impossible to achieve a workable solution when one party is on the attack while the other is strategizing a bloody coup d’état.

When mutual communication and respect crumble in the workplace, there are no winners, often irreparable damage occurs. No one likes to be harshly criticized, it can hurt feelings, stifle creativity, stir anger, fuel insecurities, destroy team chemistry, and impede a company’s growth/development. Most people don’t intend to fail at a job, it’s a lousy feeling, but also the perfect coachable scenario using a constructive strategy. Failure in the workplace is often a shared managerial/employee experience with many contributing factors – – ambiguous instructions, insufficient skills, no supervision, unclear goals, all under the umbrella of poor communication. How much time do managers spend wallowing in the reprimand when a resolution should be the first step forward followed by a plan for improvement?

John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, believed the way to win championships was to set goals, build team culture, instill values, motivate, confront, and communicate. Immediately after practice, Coach would gather feedback from the staff, document exactly what had gone well and not so well and use those notes to improve the next practice. Wooden coached his players by focusing on the negatives in a manner that was instructive for improvement and future success.

Bill Gates expounds that everyone needs a coach, and that ongoing feedback is the vehicle to a brighter future. RIBBIT.ai prompts managers that it’s their responsibility to clearly outline work and behavioral expectations with goals, required skills, timelines, and frequent feedback sessions. Fear of reprisal in companies is a huge obstacle that will impede open and honest communication. Employees need to feel encouraged and empowered to talk about what’s working and not working with their assignments. The result should be a more efficient, productive, and improved workforce which will fuel loyalty and power the bottom line.

RIBBIT.ai’s knowledgeable employee team uses ongoing, constructive communication as the source for improvement and the fuel for launching its groundbreaking financial products; empowering lenders with smarter, faster financial decisioning. Shawn Princell, CEO of RIBBIT.ai says “we won’t settle for being a good company, we are focused on creating a great company.”