, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads unHow to give feedback to employees is one of the most frequent issues that my coaching clients raise. Usually the situation is framed as dealing with a problem employee – someone who won’t listen, doesn’t follow instructions, isn’t careful with his or her work, or somehow isn’t working out. Sometimes the individual really isn’t the right match for the job. More often, though, the real problem is a manager who is not giving clear, actionable feedback about their expectations and the behaviors that need to change.

Many people equate giving feedback with initiating a confrontation, and therefore avoid it. One company president confessed that he was afraid to bring up performance issues with an employee because, “I’m afraid he’ll get really angry.” Some managers spend their evening hours re-doing a subordinate’s work, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads unt

low instructions, isn’t careful with his or her work, or somehow isn’t working out. Sometimes the individual really isn’t the right match for the job. More often, though, the real problem is a manager who is not giving clear, actionable feedback about their expectations and the behaviors that need to change.

Many people equate giving feedback with initiating a confrontation, and therefore avoid it. One company president confessed that he was afraid to bring up performance issues with an employee because, “I’m afraid he’ll get really angry.” Some managers spend their evening hours re-doing a subordinate’s work, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads un

not giving clear, actionable feedback about their expectations and the behaviors that need to change.

Many people equate giving feedback with initiating a confrontation, and therefore avoid it. One company president confessed that he was afraid to bring up performance issues with an employee because, “I’m afraid he’ll get really angry.” Some managers spend their evening hours re-doing a subordinate’s work, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads un

pany president confessed that he was afraid to bring up performance issues with an employee because, “I’m afraid he’ll get really angry.” Some managers spend their evening hours re-doing a subordinate’s work, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads un, hoping that the individual will “catch on” to what the manager wants. Others get so frustrated that they explode in anger. At one company, an employee was simply handed off to different department heads until one finally fired him!

The key to giving good feedback is to avoid making evaluative statements about someone’s behavior. These are comments that reflect your opinion about what happened, or how you and other people reacted. Evaluative or judgmental statements make people defensive, and therefore unlikely to hear the real message. Therefore, don’t say things like, “If you had listened more carefully to the instructions we would have been done by now,” or “No one on the management team could understand your logic.”

I’ve used the following five-step model successfully with a number of my clients who report that it has enabled them to respond to people in a constructive rather than combative way. It works like this: Step one is to be specific and factual about the person’s actions. Step two is to describe