How to Deliver Tough Feedback in as Little as 5 Minutes… Even If You Dread Confrontation

I’ll be honest — giving tough feedback never came naturally to me.

I remember one time, many years ago, when one of my team members started showing signs of a decline in performance. She was one of my star performers, so at first, I just chose to ignore it and brushed it off. “Maybe it’s just a bad week,” I told myself.

But then it happened again. And again. She was less available and frequently missed deadlines.

But, not willing to face the reality, I just kept finding excuses to avoid bringing it up with her. “She’s probably under pressure,” I tried to convince myself. “It’ll work itself out.”

But it didn’t.

The missed deadlines started piling up, and the team began feeling the strain. By the time I finally mustered up the courage to talk to her, it was too late. The damage was done.

And you know what happened when I finally did bring this up with her?

She was blindsided.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” she asked. She wasn’t angry — she was hurt. And I felt like I’d let everyone down — her, my team, and myself.

If you’ve ever been in a situation like this, you know how hard it can be. Giving tough feedback isn’t fun, but avoiding it? That’s a recipe for diaster.