A Manager's Guide to Delivering Tough Performance Feedback

What do you do with an employee who believes they're excelling, but the data tells a different story?

Justin Hale, coauthor of Crucial Accountability, tackles this problem head-on, showing how to initiate these uncomfortable conversations. While it is hard, putting them off rarely makes the gap close on its own. And mishandling them can damage trust and stall progress for good.

Justin breaks down five steps to prepare for and navigate a conversation when a manager and an employee view performance very differently. His insights offer a roadmap for turning a tense moment into a productive one, for both the employee and the leader.

Chapters [Start] The Performance Gap: Justin Hale introduces the gap between an employee’s perception and their work performance, and dives into how to close the gap. 01:23 Step 1: The first step in framing a conversation to make sure expectations are set and met for both parties. 02:31 Step 2: How to have the right conversation with someone once you have identified the root of the problem. 03:20 Step 3: The importance of checking your assumptions about a person before having a difficult conversation with them. 04:28 Step 4: Laying out the facts vs opinions in a conversation to make sure everyone involved is on the same page. 05:32 Step 5: Preparing yourself for multiple outcomes once you dive into a hard conversation with someone.

Links and Resources Crucial Learning When An Employee Thinks They're Awesome, But You Don't | Crucial Learning Crucial Accountability - Book Crucial Conversations for Accountability

Learn more about Justin Hale here.

The Crucial Skills Podcast is brought to you by the authors and experts at Crucial Learning, home of Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue and Crucial Conversations for Accountability training.