Being a manager isn’t easy: You have to both manage up and manage an effective team. One of the key imperatives for a manager is to build a team that performs to its full potential and is aligned to the organization’s objectives.
Today, we all crave feedback that can help us perform better and align better with the organization’s objectives. However, many managers struggle to give effective feedback. While there are tools that can help, such as one-on-one feedback systems, managers don’t always know (or realize) how to give effective feedback.
Let’s consider some of the challenges managers face in giving effective feedback, many of which can be addressed with good leadership training, and how artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tools can also be a part of the solution to giving effective and personalized feedback at scale.
Challenge 1: Lack of Communication Skills
Many managers (especially new managers) struggle to articulate their thoughts and provide constructive feedback in a clear and concise manner. This results in poor communication and in some cases misunderstandings that can harm the effectiveness of their relationship.
How AI Can Help
Natural language processing (NLP): NLP techniques enable AI systems to understand and interpret human language. Managers can leverage NLP-powered tools to get suggestions on their feedback messages, improving the tone and specificity of feedback. This helps managers improve the effectiveness of their feedback.
Challenge 2: Fear of Conflict or Negative Reactions
Often, managers hesitate to provide honest feedback with the fear of a backlash or inciting a negative reaction from their people. They worry that this may damage their relationships with the individual and create friction on their team.
How AI Can Help
Write feedback with generative AI: AI can help rewrite feedback a manager has drafted. Or, the manager can use the Situation, Behavior, Impact (SBI) framework to provide inputs to the AI tool to draft feedback for the employee. The manager can then edit the feedback to make it sound more like their own voice.
Challenge 3: Time Constraints
Many managers struggle to find time to give effective feedback to their employees, as they juggle multiple responsibilities. Time constraints can result in rushed or unclear feedback that lacks specificity or actionable advice.
How AI Can Help
Personalized feedback recommendations: AI systems can generate personalized feedback recommendations based on an individual employee’s performance history, and on their completed and desired goals. By leveraging machine learning (ML) algorithms, AI can provide tailored feedback suggestions that the manager can leverage to give better feedback, at scale.
Challenge 4: Lack of Training or Resources
Many managers receive little to no formal training on how to be a good manager… let alone how to deliver effective feedback. Especially in smaller companies with limited resources, managers often become managers because they stayed there long enough or got promoted because their previous manager quit. New managers often struggle with giving good feedback — especially when the person they are leading was once a peer.
How AI Can Help
Training and coaching: Certain AI-powered virtual coaching platforms can simulate feedback scenarios and provide managers with interactive coaching sessions. These platforms can offer guidance on giving constructive feedback, handling difficult conversations and formulating feedback styles personalized to employee preferences (if that is understood by the manager).
These are just a few examples of ways in which AI can supercharge the feedback process that most employees crave but few managers can do effectively.
However, it’s important to remember that a manager can’t be lazy and simply copy and paste AI-generated responses or recommendations and give them to employees. They have to take into consideration that feedback is a personal thing for many employees, and they have to tailor it to the situation and the style that works best for them.
By following the tips outlined above, managers can overcome common feedback challenges and drive team performance.
