Whoa - Honest Feedback!
Just got done delivering some honest feedback to a person who had unsuccessfully applied for a recent opening on my team. I'm embarrassed to say that in 6+ years of managing people, I can count the number of times I've given truly honest feedback to someone on one hand.
Don't get me wrong - I don't just make stuff up when giving feedback, but I tend to couch it in "corporate speak". I could have told this person she needed to work on her "communication" skills or be more of a "team player". Instead I told her of an incident that came to my attention where she was disrespectful to a colleague. This coupled with "the word on the street" about her generally crusty behavior, led me to not select her. She would be great with customers, but I fear her backbiting behavior on my team, which up until now has always worked very smoothly and cooperatively.
I’m inclined to select her when I have future opening. If I do that, the big battle will be with my manager who thinks I made the correct decision not selecting her. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but her customer skills and product knowledge would make her a good fit for my team.
Don't get me wrong - I don't just make stuff up when giving feedback, but I tend to couch it in "corporate speak". I could have told this person she needed to work on her "communication" skills or be more of a "team player". Instead I told her of an incident that came to my attention where she was disrespectful to a colleague. This coupled with "the word on the street" about her generally crusty behavior, led me to not select her. She would be great with customers, but I fear her backbiting behavior on my team, which up until now has always worked very smoothly and cooperatively.
I’m inclined to select her when I have future opening. If I do that, the big battle will be with my manager who thinks I made the correct decision not selecting her. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but her customer skills and product knowledge would make her a good fit for my team.
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