People can’t fix what they can’t see. From time to time, it’s our job as managers to see for them. By providing eye-opening feedback, we eliminate some of the tunnel vision that keeps others from recognizing their personal or professional flaws. And while sharing negative feedback can be good news, we need to be particular about how much of it we share at once.
Feedback is most effective when it’s released in a slow drip, not a sudden burst. Picking the right words for the right moment demands a fair amount of restraint – raising certain issues now while leaving others for later – and forces us to make selective calls about other people’s performance.
