When and How to Give Your Manager Feedback

Your relationship with your manager is an important component of your success in your position, and your manager can’t help you or provide guidance in a situation if they don’t know what’s going on. The following are instances in which it may be necessary to provide feedback to your manager:

• Your manager is doing a great job and you want to show your appreciation for their time and efforts.
• Your manager is doing something that is positively influencing your work and you want them to continue doing this.
• You’re experiencing an issue that directly affects your work and need help finding a resolution.
• Your manager is in a good position to hear and process feedback and isn’t so stressed that your feedback would fall on deaf ears.
• A certain process isn’t working for you and you need your manager to help you come up with a different way of doing things.
• Your manager regularly cancels or rescheduled meetings that directly interfere with your schedule or prevent you from getting the information necessary to perform your job.

Learn more: Giving Feedback the Right Way

The following are steps you should take when providing feedback to your manager:

1. Make your relationship with your manager a priority. It’s important to maintain a positive relationship with your manager, even if the feedback you are providing is related to a negative situation. Remaining respectful, thoughtful, empathetic, and open-minded when providing feedback will ensure your manager feels respected and is more open to hearing you out.
2. Keep your emotions in check. When you’re offering feedback to your boss, it’s important to keep your emotions in check, even if you’re upset about a particular situation or their actions or attitude. Going into a feedback meeting when your emotions are running high can result in a negative experience for everyone involved. Ensure you’re in the right state of mind and can approach the topic positively and professionally before speaking with your manager.
3. Ask if you can offer feedback. Even if you have a strong and open relationship with your manager, it’s not always the right time to offer feedback. Some managers may even not be open to receiving feedback, which can backfire if you go ahead with offering your thoughts on a matter. Plus, asking if you can offer feedback will also give you a chance to see what they are open to or interested in hearing from you.
4. Use your manager’s approach to feedback. There’s a good chance you’ve had at least one employee review or evaluation. Take a look at your previous reviews and take note of how your boss provided you with their feedback. Use this provide to offer feedback to your manager, as it’s likely one they are open and receptive to.
5. Write down what you want to present. Going into a meeting prepared to offer feedback to your manager is important to ensuring you relay your input properly and cover all relevant information. Write down what you want to discuss and think through each point so you can effectively explain it. Take your notes to the meeting to keep you on track and to ensure you cover everything you want to go over.
6. Schedule a time to meet with your manager one-on-one. Rather than simply sending an email or walking up to your manager and relaying your feedback, it’s more appropriate and professional to set aside a time to speak in provide with your manager. Ask them what a good time is to meet with them and then put it in your schedule.
7. Be specific. It’s important to be as specific as possible when offering feedback to your manager. Offer examples that support your feedback and discuss specific plans of action to help address a situation.
8. Remain positive. You should do your best to remain positive and focus on how things can improve rather than why they aren’t working at the moment. Arrive at the meeting with potential solutions and focus on relaying them in a positive and supportive tone.

Learn more: 5 Reasons Your Feedback Is Hurting, Not Helping

The following are a few examples of feedback you could provide your manager with:

• After giving it some thought, I feel that the current quotas I’ve been given for this month exceed my capacity. I feel that this quota will not allow me to do my job in an effective manner and could negatively impact my performance due to the high and stressful demands. I currently only have 15 to 20 hours a week to dedicate to this quota, which does not feel like sufficient time to meet these goals. I am open to working with you to readjust this target so that we all benefit.
• I would like to ask for more feedback as to my current tasks to ensure I am performing them in the way that’s expected. It currently feels as if internal expectations are constantly changing and these expectations aren’t always communicated to us. If we could regularly review the goals and objectives of each project and regularly touch base so you can provide feedback on an ongoing basis, this could greatly improve my ability to succeed in this area.
• I wanted to meet with you to thank you for all of the support you’ve provided through our work on the Smith account. Your one-on-one work with me allowed me to quickly get up-to-speed on the project and effectively handle the workload. Thank you again for your support and I appreciate your contributions to my success as my manager.