How to give your manager feedback

Photo by Amy Hirschi.

As an intern, you should expect feedback from your manager and colleagues as you learn the job and get used to your new environment. This feedback will mostly entail what you are doing right and areas in which you can improve. Believe it or not, your manager will also want feedback from you, to know the good things that they are doing and the things they can improve upon to become a better leader.

Giving your manager or any other member of staff in a higher position is one of the most difficult and anxiety-inducing things that you may have to experience when you work for a company. This is especially so if the feedback that you have to give them is negative. However, you need to muster the courage and speak up, especially when something is happening that will affect your work negatively.

The following are tips that can help you learn how and when to give feedback to your manager.

Learn how to give good feedback- to communicate effectively with your manager, learn how to give good feedback in general. Understand what it entails to give critiques and what characterizes good feedback. Ensure that the information that you want to relay is:

1) Relevant- do not go off-topic, stick to what your manager needs to know,

2) Descriptive- give ample detail of what the issue is. Give examples of the issue where applicable,

3) Timely- speak up when the issue arises and do not let too much time pass before you do. This way, the issue or behavior is still fresh on both of your minds so that a solution can be found quickly,

4) Concrete- ensure that the information/ critique you give your manager is solid and factual,

5) Specific- Be precise in your delivery and leave no room for doubt or raise more questions about the issue,

6) Helpful- the main reason to give someone feedback is so that they can know what they are doing well and to improve on the areas they are not so good at. Ensure that all the information that you give a person as feedback is going to help them in one way or another and is not out of spite or malice.

Photo by Jonas Jacobsson

Understand your manager’s way of working and communicating

When you first start working, you will understand that you and your colleagues may have different and preferred ways of working and communicating. For example, you may realize that you like getting the very difficult and mind-stressing work done first thing in the morning and leave the afternoons for tasks that require less brain power.

According to Jay Steven Levin, a member of the Forbes Council and the principal chief strategy & growth officer of WinThinking, understanding how your manager works and how they prefer to communicate will go a long way in you being heard and positive steps being taken. For example, figure out if your boss prefers to get negative information in the morning or after they have had their third coffee for the day. In a virtual environment, find out if it is best to have a scheduled call to talk about it or an email / WhatsApp or Slack message will do.

Share what you need

Sharing what you need is a great way of being heard and the change you desire to occur without being negative and overly critical. According to Jessica Miller-Merrell, who is the founder and chief innovation officer at Workology, letting your manager, (especially one who may be a bit difficult to approach) know that you need a specific behavior or resource or support from them to excel in your work may help you get the result you are aiming for.

For example, instead of telling your boss that their habit of giving you unclear instructions over the phone and then expecting perfection will not work, try explaining that to better do your job, you will need them to write you a well-detailed email of the instructions, clearly stating the deadline well in advance. Explain that you usually need to read through written instructions several times to fully understand the scope of the work that you are to undertake. This way, you will have communicated a need as well as helped your boss become a better leader. In this example, both you and your boss will now be accountable for the project as the expectations will be clearly stated and nobody can claim ignorance.

For effective and deliberate communication to happen, you need to be open about your needs and your manager will be more open with you. Photo by Charlie Firth.

How to give your manager negative feedback properly

According to Prof. Neal Hartman of MIT, when you are giving negative feedback, even to your superior, follow the tips below to ensure that it is most effective and helpful.

1. First make sure that you keep your emotions in check. If you are too angry, stressed, or frustrated, calm down first before you say anything. Many things said in the heat of the moment are usually regretted once emotions come down.

2. Find a private setting-ask to meet in your manager’s office, a conference room, or a one-on-one meeting via a virtual meeting app such as Zoom or Google Meet.

3. Focus on actions and behaviors; not the person.

4. Be specific.

5. Be timely.

6. Listen actively