Let’s Talk

Make effective feedback your superpower

A game-changing guide for managers who want to give great feedback.

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"Imagine being known as the person who makes those around them both successful and happy. Mastering how to give good feedback is essential. This book helps you navigate through the competing theories to become a feedback-giving maestro." 

—Michael Bungay Stanier, best-selling author of The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap

How are you supposed to tell someone that they're not meeting expectations without crushing their spirit?

Regular feedback, when delivered skillfully, can turn average performers into the hardest workers and stars into superstars. Yet many see it as an awkward chore: Recent studies have revealed 37% of managers dread giving feedback, and 65% of employees wish their managers gave more feedback.

This trail-blazing new model eliminates the guesswork. Dr. Therese Huston discovered that the key to being listened to is to listen. First, find out what kind of feedback an employee wants most: appreciation, coaching, or evaluation. If they crave one, they'll be more receptive once their need has been satisfied. Then Huston lays out counterintuitive strategies for delivering each type of feedback successfully, including:

  • Start by saying your good intentions out loud: it may feel unnecessary, but it makes all the difference.

  • Side with the person, not the problem: a bad habit or behavior is probably less entrenched than you think.

  • Give reports a chance to correct inaccurate feedback: they want an opportunity to talk more than they want you to be a good talker.

This handbook will make a once-stressful ordeal feel natural, and, by greasing the wheels of regular feedback conversations, help managers improve performance, trust, and mutual understanding.

  • "Giving great feedback--whether recognition, coaching or evaluation--is a game-changer when it comes to helping each other do our best work. We know that. And yet, it's incredibly difficult to do it well, in a way that's useful, fair, and strengthen relationships. Let's Talk breaks down giving feedback with the latest research, relevant stories, and actionable frameworks that we can all apply to turn feedback into a personal superpower."

    —Julie Zhuo, bestselling author, Making of a Manager

  • "If you've ever been afraid to deliver constructive criticism, this book is for you. It's full of practical examples and tactical tips to show you how to become an expert on giving feedback that works, and the type of leader that everyone will want to follow."

    —Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, authors of No Hard Feelings

  • "Therese Huston delivers a pep talk, toolkit, and decoding of employee behavior, all in one. Using both stories and science, she leaves us wiser, braver, fairer, and better. This book is a gift that belongs within arm's reach of every manager at all times."

    —Dolly Chugh, author of The Person You Mean to Be and Associate Professor at NYU Stern

     

  •  "Rarely does an author make research so readable — and enjoyably instructive! You'll learn more about how you give feedback now versus how you can get better at it, engaging with people of all kinds. Therese's structure, descriptions, practices, and nuanced stories covering sensitive situations achieve something rare for a management book—entertainment, education, and humanity rolled into one.” 

    —Joanna Barsh, author of How Remarkable Women Lead and Grow Wherever You Work