Don’t start with a long preamble. Don’t try to sugarcoat a tough message or pad it with “softer” points. As a new manager, I read advice that the best way to deliver critical feedback was in a “compliment sandwich,” where you start out with a positive observation, then slide in your suggestion for improvement, then close with another pat on the back, as if the only way veggies can be palatable is if they’re surrounded by a bunch of marshmallows. I find this ineffective—lobbing over a few superficial words of praise to temper a hard message comes off as insincere. Plus, the thing you actually
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