This time of the year, managers are expected to provide feedback to their reports. There are forms to fill in, “coaching conversations” to schedule, and reports on employees’ fit to the company’s “core culture” and “principles” to be written.
A lot of the conventional corporate wisdom surrounding feedback is wrong. Personally, I rarely get anything useful out of the feedback I’m given, and I agonize over how to provide feedback that is helpful rather than just being a box ticking exercise. I keep returning to this interview by Jena McGregor with executive Ashley Goodall, titled Everything you know about giving feedback at work could be wrong (ungated version here).
Managers should avoid feedback that’s abstract are a generalization. Instead, they should provide advice on how to do things better or provide facts that help reports to do their work. When they do something well, point it out. Don’t tell people how to change themselves. In some cases, it may be helpful to give them your reaction to their work. Stop saying is “can I give you some feedback?” Instead, say “here’s my reaction.“
Nehaveigur 