Ask the Business Coach Joyce K. Reynolds is an expert Business Coach who works with CEOs, Sr. Execs, entrepreneurs and countless others providing knowledge, solutions, motivation and support that assist her clientele in successfully meeting workplace challenges. Find out more about Joyce's coaching practice. Feedback for Boss on Shortcomings Question: I am the previous assistant to the director of a department. I promoted out of his department but am still within the same section. This director is very intense, demanding, has extremely high expectations. I hear from many of this director's staff about feeling micromanaged, unappreciated, not being able to satisfy this person. He and I worked very well together and still have a great working relationship. I feel the need to talk to him about how his staff feel about working for him but I'm not sure if this is appropriate. We are a very progressive company, working very hard on positive working relationships with each other. I hate to see how people view him because he is so hard working and dedicated. Is it appropriate for me to talk to him about this issue? Lori Answer: While authentic feedback can be invaluable, talking to your former boss about his shortcomings is a quite another matter. There are a number of things you’ll want to carefully consider before embarking on such a delicate mission. Many companies that would be described as progressive have policies in place that supply 360-degree feedback for their top management. This kind of process works because tough-minded comments come, by design, from all sides. If this is the case in your organization, there would be a natural avenue for supplying information to your former supervisor on the subject of his management style. If, however, there is no such policy and you have no evidence that this would be a totally welcome communication, be aware of the risks you’d be running to volunteer this kind of critique. Before taking any such risks, I’d caution you to determine what your motive is in wanting to have this discussion with your former supervisor. You indicate that you worked very well with him and have a ‘great relationship.’ This would indicate that you, apparently, did not have overwhelming difficulty in working for him. If that’s the case, a more natural and safe course would be to coach fellow workers who still report to him on the strategies that were successful for you. Identify and share the tactics or attitudes that allowed you to be unaffected by his demanding, high-expectation, micromanaging style. After all, whatever you were doing earned you a promotion. If you find through honestly assessing your motive that this is simply providing an opportunity to voice some things you held back from your time reporting to this director – DON’T DO IT. If, on the other hand, you establish that your motives are pure and you still believe it is important to have the discussion, be on the lookout for an informal time with this director that would allow for casual introduction of the subject. Be very careful to gently determine if the topic would be welcome. You might consider asking him if – now that you are out in the organization-at-large – he might find it useful to have some feedback. If he says ‘yes’ – set the boundaries immediately. Be aware that the truth is often painful. Even if he indicates that he wants to know what’s going on, he may, ultimately, take offense at the truth no matter how diplomatically offered. It is always a great challenge to find gentle ways to discuss hard truths. In fact, sometimes the question arises - can I tell the truth without jeopardizing my career? The honest answer is, you don’t know until you try. Brad Blanton, President of the Radical Honesty Network has some interesting things to say on the topic. He says, “Tell the truth. All the time. About everything…Sure, the truth hurts. But it inspires, too. People spend too much time calculating the risks that come with being honest - and too little time thinking about the rewards. I've been counseling businesspeople for more than 25 years. Only twice have I seen people get fired for speaking their mind. Most people who finally have the difficult conversations that they've been avoiding tell a different story: In the course of an hour, they were fired twice, they quit twice, but eventually they left the room with their position intact. And within a month, they had a promotion and a raise. Most leaders want honest communication - even if the message isn't something they want to hear. Radical honesty is addictive. Once people discover the truth, they fall in love with it.” However, it’s one thing to be put in that position by your boss – quite another to volunteer for it. The final risk you’ll want to address is that such an act – even if it’s successful in some part – might alter that ‘great relationship’ you have with your former director. Weigh out the gains versus the losses and, in the end, understand that your biggest challenge is to determine if it’s really your place and in your best interests to voluntarily step up to such a tough job. In either event, you can be sure that you’re learning a lot by simply going through this thoughtful, honest self-evaluating process. That alone will hold you in good stead. Also see: • Ask Joyce your workplace questions • More questions • One-on-one business coaching Disclaimer: The information in this column is intended to provide the reader with general ideas or concepts to be used as part of a broader base of knowledge they collect to determine their own best course of action and solutions most suitable for solving their workplace challenges. The information in this column is not guaranteed to be the appropriate solution for each individual.