Managerial Role - Follow Up With Clear, Honest, Timely Feedback

No matter what their age or position, the most talented people no longer want a "boss" at work. They want a coach. They want someone who sets clear expectations, teaches them how to get and stay on track, and helps them master the competencies that will make them more successful.

The best efforts at clarifying expectations, creating performance standards and goals, and holding people accountable will prove ineffective unless the manager develop the skill of delivering clear, honest, timely feedback. Performance reviews, even if given quarterly, are no longer sufficient in the current fast-paced workplace. People need to know immediately when they're off track or on track. They need the manager to respond daily to their actions so they can move on to the next opportunity. The ability to raise their own bar of responsiveness is a core competency of the coaching-style manager.

Consider the following suggestions for making the daily feedback more effective:

1. The manager should ask themselves: What does the employee need to hear from me, versus what do they want to hear? be kind, but have the courage to be honest. It will serve no one by hedging or delaying constructive feedback. Let everyone know that your intention in giving feedback is to help them get better at their job.

2. Be sure the feedback is accurate, that is, thoughtful, balanced, and true. Every time feedback is delivered, the manager’s credibility is on the line. If a person perceives the feedback as unfair, unbalanced, or factually inaccurate, the credibility of the manager’s relationship is undermined. On the other hand, he or she will trust and value the manager more if time is taken to be thorough, sensitive, and instructive. Therefore, be aware of knee-jerk reactions. Before delivering feedback, stop to reflect. Are the assumptions valid? Are all the facts available? Should they be double-checked? Are there other responses to the situation that would that could impact the feedback?

Next, balance praise and criticism. When the point of the feedback is to correct an employee's performance, think about that person's valuable contributions before proceeding. While it may not be appropriate to praise them in the moment, it's important to keep the bigger picture of their positive contributions in mind. Don't allow the need to discuss performance improvement overshadow their overall value. Above all, focus the comments on the performance, not the person.

On the other hand, if the focus of the feedback is praise, be careful about over-praising, especially when the person clearly has room for improvement. Although people love praise, they don't appreciate insincerity; it dilutes their genuine accomplishments and makes them question your judgment about what's valuable. Practice balance and stay on track.

Make coaching part of every feedback discussion. Simply telling people what they're doing right and what they could do better isn't the same as coaching them to their best performance. After receiving feedback, team members should know precisely what they're expected to do next. The manager’s positioning statement should be, "Now here's what T need you to do...." Then fill in the blank with how they can improve performance, adjust goals or deadlines, or move on to new opportunities. Then pose a closing question: "What do you need from me in return in terms of coaching, support, resources, recognition, and incentives?"