What's the best way
to get honest feedback
from your staff?
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feedback with you, the employee would
never get their problem solved. You’d never
know your employee felt micromanaged.
The whole survey would have been a waste
of time.
What to do? Take a deep breath, swal-
low your pride and accept this as an essen-
tial piece of feedback: At least one of your
employees feels micromanaged.
Let’s be clear — this doesn’t mean you
are micromanaging or that your employee
doesn’t need frequent and clear oversight
from you. Your employee may well need
an active manager. I’ve had employees
complain to me that their bosses micro-
manage or are mean, and when I probe a
bit further, I learn that the micromanaging
is demanding they meet reasonable dead-
lines and show up on time. Perception isn’t
always reality.
But it might be. And you would be a fool
to ignore this precious piece of feedback.
No one is a perfect manager, and very few
people receive proper training to become
Take a deep breath, swallow your pride and
accept this as an essential piece of feedback: At
least one of your employees feels micromanaged.
a great manager, so we all learn as we go.
Take this as a blessing. Here’s what you do
next. a useful resource. If not, it’s appropriate to
ask for a training class.
TALK TO YOUR MANAGER This one is a little bit harder because you
may feel hurt that at least one of your direct
reports criticized you. If you worry you’re
going to act defensive, you should wait un-
til you feel calm and ready to have an hon-
est conversation with them. Then sit your
team members down (I prefer together, but
you can do one on one) and make the fol-
lowing statement: My boss gave me some
feedback. He said that I micromanage you
guys from time to time. I’d like to fix that.
Then ask for feedback on areas where
they would like you to step back and let
them do their work. You, as the manager,
will decide whether their requests are rea-
sonable. If you’re unsure, a good response
is: Let’s try it your way for two weeks and
then re-evaluate. This approach makes
them feel heard, and you’re only risking
two weeks. It’s entirely possible they will
shine when given a chance.
We can’t always see our own mistakes,
which means sometimes we need outside
perspectives to avoid making the same
ones over and over. Even though negative
feedback can be painful, it’s wise to wel-
come it.
Your employees took a risk in being
honest with you. (They knew, or at least
hoped, it would get back to you.) It’s time
for you to take a risk in listening to them. n
Ask your manager specifically if he’s no-
ticed you micromanaging. If he says yes,
ask for examples. Ask if he can share any-
thing else from the survey. Make it clear
that your goal is to be a better manager and
request his feedback.
If he’s a good manager, he’ll be able to
do this. If, on the other hand, he’s not good
at providing constructive feedback, you
may have to turn elsewhere for coaching.
If you have a good HR person, they can be
TALK WITH YOUR DIRECT REPORTS
Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corpo-
rate human resources, where she hired,
fired, managed the numbers and double-
checked with the lawyers. On Twitter
@RealEvilHRLady.
October 2018 | comstocksmag.com
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