How to handle conflicting employee feedback on leaders & supervisors

If employee feedback on their managers’ performance seems wildly contradictory from one person to another, the problem might not be flawed data.

For example, if some staffers say someone’s a micromanager, while others say they need more guidance from that person, it’s difficult to take any info like that and analyze what adjustments or improvements could be made.

What’s happening that management’s being viewed so differently by each employee?

Employee feedback with mixed messages

Although it’s impossible to please everybody, you still need to do everything you can to keep your staffers around so you’re not dealing with turnover costs.

So when there’s employee feedback on your managers that’s so strikingly different that the viewpoints seem to cancel each other out, it’s best to be curious about it.

An approach that Navalent co-founder and managing partner Ron Carucci suggested in a post on Harvard Business Review‘s website is that managers make a list of five colleagues that they have a good rapport with and five with whom they have the opposite type of relationship.

Then, they should write down what makes these relationships productive or unproductive, then ask themselves the following questions:

1. Are certain people getting my best or worst? For instance, are your managers harder on newer employees, whose skills may still be developing? If they’ve been unconsciously favoring one set of employees or colleagues at the expense of others, how can this become more balanced? Are certain people not getting enough empathy and openness?
2. Am I managing on auto pilot? An easy habit that experienced leaders can fall into is relying on the management tactics they’ve always used, without considering new data or context. When managers are working with someone they don’t already have a solid personal connection with, make sure they consider what the person might need from them. How can they respectfully ensure each person is on the same page, and how can managers affirm or deepen trust with that person?
3. Do I need to be more clear about my intentions? If someone doesn’t understand the outcome their managers are looking for, or why they’re taking certain actions, their motives can be unintentionally misinterpreted.