Building capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system

8th Annual NW Diversity Learning Series (2006)

Session Six: November 8, 2006:
Recovering from taking a wrong exit: Turning negative feedback (failure), or loss of face into a positive, capacity-building outcome.

The sixth session of the Series focused on setbacks, failure, negative feedback or loss of face in the workplace, and what employees can do to get back on a capacity-building track: regain their self-esteem and the respect and confidence of co-workers, bosses, identity group members, family or community.

Below are techniques for building an employee's confidence and mobilizing their full efforts.

How can you build your employees' confidence?

1. Confidence can be built by using the Moderate Risk Zone (MRZ)

Use feedback to help your employees locate their individual MRZ and set goals that are both challenging and realistic. Offer support so that they can incrementally take on more challenge. Their confidence will grow as they show themselves what they can do in the Zone.

The MRZ falls between zones that are unchallenging and unrealistic (too challenging). It is the zone where the employee is reasonably challenged, has a high improvement potential and the reward is good or excellent.

2. Confidence can be built through accurate attributions

Help your employees make accurate attributions about their failures and successes. Recognizing their effort when they succeed will encourage them to take on new challenges. Using feedback to explain their failures will help them refine their strategy and increase their commitment and likelihood of success in the next attempt.

3. Confidence is built through a social context

People are not born with confidence. It is built with the aid of constructive interactions. Help your employees build a network of people who can support their learning and development.

Michael Hyter, President and CEO of Novations Group, Boston, MA, was the presenter for the November 8, 2006 session of the Northwest Diversity Learning Series in Seattle, Washington on the topic of turning negative feedback (failure), or loss of face into a positive, capacity-building outcome.

The 2006 NW Diversity Learning Series (now in its 9th year) focused on the theme, Building Capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system.

Using the metaphor of a subway system, each of the six-bi-monthly morning seminars explored some of the ways that access to organizational opportunities and career development are hidden and therefore more difficult for women and people of color, as well as people who speak English as a second language, to utilize. The purpose of this Series was for everyone to become more aware of organizational culture and how it impacts building people's capacity, and for everyone, managers and employees, to become better at navigating these cultural obstacles along career paths.

For more information about the NW Diversity Learning Series, please visit the Series section of our website.

2006 Series Sponsors:

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