Tell me about telling someone on your team their work wasn't good enough. How did you say it?
Why this works
Most managers describe the feedback model they were taught, not the conversation they had; asking for the words surfaces whether the message survived delivery or was softened past recognition. What happened in the following month shows whether the feedback was an event or the start of a plan.
Follow-up probes
- What did you actually say, as close to word-for-word as you can?
- How did they respond in the room?
- What changed in their work in the month after?
What good looks like
The problem stated plainly and about the work, not the person, the reaction absorbed without retreating from the point, concrete next steps agreed, and a specific improvement visible afterward.
Red flags
Feedback so cushioned the person left unaware there was a problem, a conversation that happened months after the issue first appeared, or "the conversation" turning out to have been an email.
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