Giving feedback to your manager
Your manager changes direction, shares information late or behaves in a way that makes your work harder. You want to raise it without turning the conversation into a general assessment of their leadership. Start with the effect of one specific behaviour.
SPAALO editorial team · · General conversation support
Ask for a suitable time, describe an example and its effect on your work, then propose a small change to try together.
Three practical actions
Prepare one example
Choose a recent event you experienced yourself. Describe what happened, the arrangement in place beforehand and what you had to redo or could not complete. Decide what change you want. Distinguish between giving feedback about a process and asking for a decision to be reversed.
Make room for a conversation
Choose a calm moment and explain that you want to discuss something that would help you work effectively. Ask whether your manager can listen now or would prefer another time. Share your example and ask which considerations you might not know about.
Agree a change you can assess
Suggest sharing changes before a planning meeting or collecting feedback in one document. Ask whether this is workable and how you will recognise improvement. Briefly confirm the arrangement and return to it after two weeks to discuss what has changed.
What you can say
Use words that feel natural to you and replace the details with what is happening in your situation.
I would like to discuss how changed priorities reach me. Could we take ten minutes for that tomorrow?
The plan changed on Friday after the report was finished. I had to rebuild it on Monday. Could we coordinate changes earlier?
I may be missing a consideration. What led to that decision, and what could we share earlier next time?
What changes with your circumstances?
Your manager invites feedback
Keep it specific and useful even if the invitation is broad. One example with a practical suggestion helps more than a collection of compliments and complaints.
The decision cannot change
Discuss which part of communication can improve: timing, explanation, handover or preparation. Useful feedback does not always result in a different decision.
You expect negative consequences
Consider whether a direct conversation feels appropriate. If needed, seek support from a suitable workplace contact first and share only necessary information.
If the conversation is still not moving forward
If the response is defensive, return to the shared work objective and ask which part can be discussed. If the same pattern continues, record the practical effects accurately and seek a suitable support route. A conversation can clarify expectations even without immediate agreement or a complete change of approach.
A pitfall to avoid
Do not speak for the whole team without their agreement. Avoid always and never when you mean one or two specific examples.
Make it specific to your role.
Which behaviour makes your work harder, and what small change from your manager would help?
Describe it in the SPAALO app. Choose your role for practical guidance on what you can do and say. Do not include names or confidential information.
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