Much of a company's success can be traced directly to how a manager relate to those around them. Yet all too often some managers see their employees as an ego boosting machine and fail to treat them with respect.
The number one rule must always be, "treat people as you would like them to treat you. If this is followed then employees will be open to suggestions of how to improve their skills to benefit the company.

One of the most important jobs a manager has to do is give criticism. The main objective of giving criticism is to improve the quality of work and strive to better achieve the goals of the organization. There should be an improvement in the performance or output of an individual, by giving feedback on their current progress.

The first thing to acknowledge when giving criticism is to criticise the behaviour and not the person - don't just tell what they need to improve, but give them ideas how and commit (and follow through) to help them, be it one-on-one, by paying for training, etc.

If an employee is any good a manager should be prepared to spend time preparing the criticism and also be prepared to accept that progress might not happen straight away.

Spend time giving honest, specific and consistent praise. An employee needs to believe in themselves. If the praise is also in public this will increase the belief. Other employees need to see and hear that you believe in them.

If an employee is to make progress they should have behaviour or skills modelled to them so they are in no doubt about the standard expected. This is where it is important that the manager is able to demonstrate himself or delegate it to someone who can.

Each job comes with specific vocabulary that is not always known to everyone. Time must be given to ensure that it is understood and used correctly. It is equally important for the employee to know when and where to use this vocabulary so as not to undermine people.

Once the employee has had plenty of opportunity to watch the modelling and practise it on their own then criticism can be given. It needs to be frank but not malicious - remember the aim is improvement not annihilation.

A natural response to criticism will be one of defence. The employee should be reminded it is okay to get things wrong as long as lessons are learned. Advice needs to be given on how to improve and if necessary provide training.

Allow the employee to develop the skills or behaviour you have highlighted. Ensure that you praise them when they do well. On no account start criticising them on something else unless it is a matter of life and death - I have seen this happen all too often.

If this process is followed in a similar format throughout the company progress will be made and employees will want to learn new processes and skills to develop their own portfolio as well as helping the company.