Useful manager feedback describes an observable action, explains why it matters to the work and gives the employee room to respond. “You are a natural leader” may feel positive but leaves the person unsure what to repeat. “You lack ownership” is negative without identifying the agreement or evidence behind it.
The examples here are fictional discussion prompts. Adapt them to facts you actually observed and to the purpose of the conversation. They are not a validated feedback model or a substitute for required performance, HR or safety procedures.
Published guidance behind these feedback examples
In Positive Feedback and Improvement Feedback Belong Together, Shannon Carver describes appreciating a service experience while also telling the provider how it could improve. The video explains that encouragement and accountability can coexist: recognition identifies useful behavior to sustain, while improvement feedback addresses what could change. Shannon connects candid feedback with trust, credibility and respect.
The examples below are separate editorial illustrations, not examples supplied in that video. For supervisors practising these conversations after training, see frontline people-management training. Use the original video for Shannon's perspective and the discussion prompts here to prepare a specific conversation about observable work.
Reinforce an action worth repeating
Instead of “Great communication,” try: “At the handoff you named the receiving owner and asked them to confirm the open question. We left with a shared understanding of the next action. What helped you prepare that?” The feedback identifies the action and its observed effect while inviting the employee’s account.
Do not claim an effect you cannot verify. If you observed a clear summary but do not know whether the handoff succeeded, say that. Specific recognition can acknowledge thoughtful preparation without attaching an unsupported output improvement or customer result.
Refine work that was acceptable but could be clearer
A developmental example could be: “The update included the completed tasks, but the unresolved approval was not identified until the end. I had difficulty seeing which decision you needed. Could we try putting the decision request first next time?” Ask how the employee understood the expected format before assuming they ignored it.
Explain whether the suggested change is an option or a required standard. If it is required, give clear instruction and support. Disguising a nonnegotiable expectation as an open coaching question creates unnecessary uncertainty.
Discuss the interaction without assigning a personality
Instead of “You are defensive,” consider: “When I asked about the delay, we moved straight to whether the target was reasonable. I would like us to review the actual sequence first, then examine the target. How did my question sound to you?” This keeps the discussion on an interaction and allows the manager’s own approach to be examined.
A response can have context the manager does not yet know. One conversation is not evidence of a stable trait. Listen before interpreting, and use qualified support for issues outside ordinary work feedback.
Feedback to your manager: recognition and improvement examples
Illustrative upward feedback (AI-assisted editorial): In a fictional shared project, an employee receives two incompatible requests. After the manager names the priority and explains which work will wait, positive feedback can identify that decision and how it helped the employee plan. This makes the recognition specific enough for the manager to understand which action was useful.
In a second fictional situation, the manager changes priority after work begins but leaves the earlier deadline unchanged. Improvement feedback describes the change, the capacity conflict and the clarification needed: which commitment should move, and who needs to know? Both examples concern ordinary work agreements, not reported client experience or a validated feedback script.
Sample wording (AI-assisted fictional examples): For recognition, an employee might say, “When you chose one priority and said which task could wait, I could plan the handoff without guessing. Could we keep naming that tradeoff when priorities change?” For improvement, the same employee might say, “When the new request arrived, the earlier deadline stayed in place. I do not see how to complete both with the time available. Which commitment should move, and who should I update?” Use these as ordinary-work prompts, not a required script. Replace the fictional details with what you actually observed, invite your manager’s explanation and agree the next action. Formal or confidential concerns still belong in your organization’s approved channel.
Use one observed work example, explain its effect on your own work and ask for a specific next agreement. The one-on-one meeting agenda provides time to discuss support and competing commitments; urgent issues still need the appropriate immediate route. Hear your manager’s constraints before assuming intent, and agree what each person will do and when to review it. For formal or confidential concerns, use your organization’s approved channel rather than a shared meeting note.
Choose a suitable setting and timing
Discuss sensitive developmental feedback privately through approved channels. Ask whether the employee can have the conversation now or whether a specific near-term time would work better, except where necessary action cannot wait. Recognition preferences vary; do not assume everyone wants public praise.
Avoid bundling months of unspoken concerns into one routine check-in. When an actual commitment was missed, use the missed-commitment conversation guide to clarify the agreement and evidence rather than pretending the issue is only a wording problem.
For a scheduled review covering a wider period of work, use the performance review conversation guide to prepare the evidence, invite the employee’s account and separate unresolved decisions from development actions.
End with a testable next step
A next step might be to make the required decision visible at the beginning of the next appropriate update. Name what support the manager will provide and when both people will review an example. Do not turn the prompt into an informal personnel scoring system.
The coaching template is useful when the next conversation needs to explore reasoning and practice in more depth. If managers need consistent support in feedback across teams, discuss the development need with Shannon. Bring examples and actual role expectations rather than a list of personality labels.
About this resource: Prepared with AI-assisted drafting. Examples and templates are illustrative, not reported client outcomes, a validated assessment or a substitute for required policies and qualified supervision.