Year-end reviews: Feedback for managers matters (too!)
It’s year-end review time and as always, there's an air of anticipation as folks await feedback from their managers, looking forward to not only personal growth but also the accompanying recognition and rewards!!
There's another facet of this process that often gets overlooked—the opportunity for us all to provide feedback on our managers! This is our (rare) chance to share our perspectives for our managers' managers to gauge the pulse of our relationships and assess if our bosses are truly fostering an environment conducive to our success :)
As a manager, I (try as much as I can to) welcome critique and concerns with open arms and foster an environment such that this dialogue doesn't remain confined to the year-end review process alone.
Also, having been a manager of numerous managers through out my career, I’ve seen and addressed firsthand two common extremes, neither of which contribute to a healthy work environment:
Managers simply being jerks getting overall negative sentiments and killing morale in the team
Overcompensating by being too agreeable, avoiding tough discussions and sugar-coating feedback.
While addressing the first is typically straightforward and acknowledged, the second one is frequently overlooked (and remains unaddressed) until it detrimentally impacts team effectiveness :(
And to drive this point home to all such managers, I often share one of my all-time favorite management quotes below :)