How to deliver negative feedback

Finance director Christos wants to tell analyst Josiah that his financial model contains a recurring error. Based on the article, which approach is most likely to help Josiah to actually improve?

Christos would benefit most from sending a department-wide email reminding everyone to check their models, ensuring that the email adopts a warm, encouraging tone

Christos should wait until the end of the quarter before raising the issue so that Josiah does not feel overwhelmed and become defensive

Christos should consider raising the issue privately with Josiah as soon as is practicable, describing the error

Christos should ask other colleagues about further errors that Josiah makes so that Josiah is aware of the social context in which he works

Yara, a finance team leader, notices that when she gives negative feedback, recipients often stay quiet – they do not ask questions or seem very engaged. What is likely to be her best course of action here?

Yara may need to invest more in listening to her team and building up their trust in her

Yara needs to provide feedback more frequently so that the members of her team get used to hearing both positive and negative feedback

Yara needs to provide much more positive feedback to show her appreciation for her team

All the other answers are correct

Priyanka is a finance manager who rates her own performance as excellent, but the finance director and her peers rate her as merely average. Which of the following statements is the most correct?

This is likely a symptom of unfairness on the part of Priyanka's colleagues

It is not possible to interpret the observation without more data

This is a fairly rare occurrence

Self-assessments are often less accurate than external ones

Marek observes Vanessa, who is a fellow customer service agent, making comments to a customer that seem a little offensive. Marek is weighing up whether to speak to Vanessa directly or report the issue to their supervisor, Lena. Which of the following statements is the most correct?

Feedback from Lena will be most impactful only if she has developed a trusting relationship with Vanessa

Feedback from Lena will likely be much more impactful because she is very likely to possess both referent power and reward power

Marek should deliver the feedback himself because Vanessa will appreciate his honesty and courage in being direct with her

Marek should deliver the feedback himself, framing it in terms of how Vanessa's behaviour might affect her ability to achieve her career goals, as this is the best way to get her to attend to the feedback

Which of the following statements is true of negative feedback?

It should be used sparingly as high-performing leaders give more positive than negative feedback

It is much more effective than positive feedback in helping people to improve their skills

It is most effective when the feedback giver focuses on the context of the feedback and takes into account the recipient's personality

It is more difficult to deliver to older employees than younger employees

What is one conclusion that can be drawn from the article?

Feeling listened to is the largest factor in determining the extent to which a recipient will take on board feedback

The tone of voice and precise words used by a feedback giver matter relatively little in determining the overall impact of the feedback

Giving feedback is a complex activity requiring multiple skills including listening and rapport building

Two of the other statements are correct

Wenjing, a finance director, wants to build a climate within her team in which employees proactively seek out constructive criticism. How is she most likely to achieve that outcome?

Replacing the annual performance appraisal with short, informal discussions about performance that happen every 60 days

Engaging in frequent conversations with employees in which she not only asks about their work but also shows genuine interest in their broader wellbeing

Spending time asking how her team are progressing in terms of their targets and quarterly objectives

Frequently telling her reports that she is keen to build a culture based on trust and two-way communication

A highly intelligent manager called Diana believes that being right about a colleague's mistake should be enough to ensure that the feedback will be effective. Which of the following statements is most correct?

Demonstrating a willingness to listen after giving feedback is the biggest factor that determines whether feedback is acted on

Feedback that is specific is the best way to change the colleague's behaviour

Trust and credibility are likely the biggest factors in determining whether feedback is acted on

Feedback that is accurate and backed by evidence is the best way to change the colleague's behaviour

Vadim observes that Tessa, a fellow manager, often makes remarks that can seem offensive or uncaring. What would be his best approach for dealing with the situation?

To build enough trust or credibility with Tessa to ensure his feedback will actually be taken on board

To record several incidents until he has enough evidence to approach Tessa

To pass the feedback on to Tessa's line manager so that the issue can be resolved by someone with more formal authority in this situation

To report the issue to HR as HR professionals are typically better at building trust and credibility with employees

Which of the following statements is most likely correct?

All the other answers are correct

As professionals who deal with data, accountants are likely to be more accurate at judging their own strengths and weaknesses than most other employees

The skill of receiving feedback without defensiveness is likely to help employees to improve their performance and chances of promotion

As professionals with extensive experience of making rational judgments, finance directors tend to be better than directors in other lines of work at giving feedback that drives improvement