Mastering the scary act of speaking up to your boss.
Tricks of the trade
If you’re at a point where you’re looking up articles on how to deliver criticism to your boss properly, you’re probably facing an inconvenient within your team and need your boss to step up. But hold on—do not let your emotions get the best of you.
As frustrated as you might be, remember to follow these steps carefully when giving feedback to anyone, especially someone of a higher level:
Understand your goal
Get your purpose straight. Is it to give feedback on their overall performance or a certain project. This will determine the tone of your conversation.
Prepare for the conversation
List down the points you’d like to get across, and make sure to have a face-to-face conversation whether offline or online to get better visual cues.
Ease into your feedback
Try to be as direct as you can, but make sure that your tone is professional. Once you provide your feedback, ask for theirs.
Example: ‘I’ve been having this issue. What do you think about approaching it from this direction?'
Learn more about having a professional feedback conversation with your boss in the Fast Company article here .
Scoring the pre-game
Before you walk into the 1-on-1 meeting which could get pretty intense due to its delicate nature, make sure you’re prepped with all the right ammo to keep you on track throughout.
Be sure to cover all the important points of the the opponent’s performance by evaluating the following areas:
Review your boss’s managerial approach and note down the positive aspects and areas that could use improvement.
Mention what you like about the existing system or process your boss has in place, and identify things you’d like improved.
Identify situations where your boss left you frustrated or provoked negative feelings and include those in your 360-degree review.
Think about your past interactions, note down areas where your boss performs their job effectively—this could relate to their personality and leadership style.
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Find more tips on how to ace 360 feedback to your boss, including examples and benefits in the Indeed piece here .
Logical fallacies to avoid
Though it’s not exactly an argument we’re expecting in conversations where we give feedback, sometimes it is inevitable for people to stand up for themselves and address their POV.
Don’t let logical fallacies aka errors in reasoning destroy the quality of your open, two-way discussion. There are more than 20 logical fallacies out there, here are some you need to stay alert of while giving feedback:
The Texas Sharpshooter
Origin: A Texan fires a gun at a barn wall and then paints a target around the closest cluster of holes to create the appearance of a sharp shot.
Meaning: The offender selects and highlights evidence that supports the conclusion—while ignoring evidence that may refute it.
Takeaway: When there are sources saying that your boss is actually doing a great job (contrary to your criticism), accept it with an open mind.
Bandwagon Fallacy
Origin: Offered without regard for the qualifications or ability of the people in question to validate the claim.
Meaning: An assumption of truth on the basis of the majority of people believing it to be true.
Takeaway: Confirm assumptions based on real facts and data before confronting your boss.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Origin: A flimsy argument framework that says since Event B followed Event A, Event B must have been caused by Event A.
Meaning: Just because B followed A, doesn’t necessarily mean that B was caused by A.
Takeaway: Correlation ≠ Causation. Understand that there might be an underlying reason as to why your boss might be underperforming.
Scroll through the comprehensive Twitter thread summarizing 20 types of logical fallacies, and learn not to fall into their traps here .
Have you had experience with giving constructive criticism to your boss? What would have you done differently?
Bookmark this week’s Monday Mavens edition for when you might need it later on in your career.
We’ll see you again next week.
Cheers!