Line managers told to build on the positives, not focus on the negatives when giving performance feedback

Jonny Gifford, senior research adviser for organisational behaviour at the CIPD, said:

“The strengths-based approach marks a big shift in mind-set for many, if not most of us. Our default mode when looking for improvements tends to be deficit-oriented – we hone in on what’s gone wrong and consider how we can avoid that in the future. There will always be cases where it’s imperative to do this, but our research shows the benefit of making the norm in performance conversations to reflect instead on what worked well, why, and how it can be replicated.