We all either give or receive feedback on work performance. While we say it’s important, we don’t always treat it as important. It often devolves into barroom generalities, personality-based observations, or negative stereotypes. My eyes were opened by a very actionable article published on November 1, 2024, in the Harvard Business Review titled “High Performers Need Feedback, Too,” by Rocki Howard, a thought leader in HR, inclusion, and work culture.
Avoid Vapid Language
What’s the problem with the following employee feedback?
“Your questions in last week’s meeting were great! You rarely miss a chance to show your thinking skills, and it was helpful to all of us.”
Is the employee better off after hearing this comment? No. It’s too much fluff, like telling a person not to drive faster than the speed limit.
Make it useful instead: “Your questions were insightful because they opened up the discussion on how we’ll approach the Q4 earnings call.”
This is concrete. It uses the key word “because.” Specificity is key.
Never Make It Personal!
In her article, Howard makes the useful observation that women often get comments like “You’re the most helpful person on the team—a joy to work with.” She writes that women are 22% more likely to get feedback on their personality than men. It’s “greeting card” nice, but the employee doesn’t receive any actionable feedback. She just receives a compliment, nothing more.
Instead, make it useful: “Your clear communication and openness to working with your colleagues helped us put together a more cohesive pitch to the potential client. Let’s find more opportunities to work on pitches so we can use your skills and hone them.”
Howard notes that you must refocus from personality traits to skills and behaviors. Impart the message that you want to help employees develop their demonstrated skills even further.
Avoid Negative Stereotypes
“Your colleagues find you difficult to work with.”
Howard tells us that avoiding negative stereotypes is especially important with those who are likely to internalize feedback. An example of perpetuating a negative stereotype in the workplace would be telling a female manager that she can be too emotional. Here’s Howard:
Research also [finds] that 42% of Black employees recall being called “unlikeable” in feedback, while White employees are two times as likely to be called “likeable” over any other group at work. These labels can undermine even the most talented individuals and reinforce stereotypes about specific groups.
Resorting to stereotypes is, well, lazy management. When in doubt, resort to the concrete, such as: “I’ve noticed during our team discussions that you tend to shut down others before they complete their thoughts. This makes them feel dismissed and affects their trust in your leadership. Let’s work on ways to facilitate their contributions.”
Avoid labels; embrace facts.
Bottom Line
Once you get into the mindset of giving specifics, you’ll see immediate results. The advice also works when you give compliments. Would you rather hear “Good job on getting that article published in our trade publication” or “I read the synopsis of your new article. I really liked the actionable advice you gave on [XYZ] topic. It will help a lot of readers”?
The second response shows real interest. The person took the time, and that’s special because time is our most precious resource. Spend it freely!
Michael P. Maslanka is a professor at the UNT-Dallas College of Law. You can reach him at michael.maslanka@untdallas.edu.
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