The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

by Julie Zhuo

Behavioral feedback is useful because it provides a level of personalization and depth that is missing from task-specific feedback. By connecting the dots across multiple examples, you can help people understand how their unique interests, personalities, and habits affect their ability to have impact. When you give behavioral feedback, you are making a statement about how you perceive that person, so your words need to be thoughtfully considered and supported with specific examples to explain why you feel that way. It’s best discussed in person so the receiver can ask questions and engage in a back-and-forth with you. Behavioral feedback helps people understand the reality of how others see them, which may be different than how they see themselves. It can feel difficult to talk about because it is so personal—a