Introduction
Giving feedback to a manager or senior at work can feel daunting, to say the least.
But with 82% of new UK managers receiving no formal management training before stepping into the role, knowing how to give effective feedback to managers and leaders is essential.
Read this blog to learn how to give feedback to your manager in a way that works, and feel confident doing so, with insights from real HR experts (we teach HR for a living).
Let’s get started.
The problem: why managers don’t get feedback
Most organisational structures are flawed. Performance reviews are built for managers to assess staff, not the other way round.
Having structured, official channels for managers to provide feedback on employee performance is essential to employee development. It gives them awareness of their areas of competency and areas for improvement.
But many organisations lack structured, official channels for employees to provide feedback to their managers.
Why giving managers feedback is so hard
As an employee, giving direct and honest feedback to a manager can be daunting.
It can make you think:
– What if they take it badly?
– What if it negatively impacts our working relationship?
– What if it affects the potential for progression in my career?
Which means most people don’t tell managers how they really feel.
The result: managers operate with a blind spot and don’t develop as they should.
University of Sheffield research found managers consistently underestimate the real impact of their behaviour on the people they lead.
When to escalate, and when not to
Direct feedback is the right first step for almost every workplace behaviour issue. But there are exceptions.
Go to HR or skip-level if the behaviour involves:
- Bullying, harassment, or discrimination
- Anything that breaches the law or company policy
- A pattern that hasn’t changed after you’ve raised it directly more than once
- Retaliation for previous feedback
Stay with direct feedback if the behaviour is:
- A management style issue (control and communication)
- A one-off rather than a pattern
- Something they’re likely unaware of
Most issues sit in the second category. They get bigger only because nobody names them.
The SBI Model: Situation, Behaviour, Impact
Before you jump into telling your boss they’re micromanaging you, break it down into specifics. Whilst not a CIPD-owned model, SBI is widely used, and you’ve probably had it delivered before without even realising it.
For example:
“Last week in the team meeting (situation), you spoke over me whilst I was delivering the client results (behaviour), and I felt like I was doing it wrong and that they’ll now go back to you, which wasn’t the intention of delegating that report in the first place (impact).”
This can work for pretty much any leadership situation you could face.
Common Feedback Situations and What To Say
If you’re thinking: | You could say: |
“How can I stop my manager from micromanaging me?” | “On the team overview last week, you asked for three drafts before the deadline and rewrote sections I’d already finalised. It made me feel like my judgment wasn’t trusted, and slowed delivery. Could we agree on deadlines for a partway review, and a specific list of what you need to be able to trust me to take care of this to take it off your plate?” |
“How am I going to tell my boss I have too much work?” | “Since my last review, I’ve taken on three new projects on top of my existing work. I’m doing long hours to keep up, and quality is starting to slip. Could we look at the list together and agree on what I deprioritise, pause, or hand off?” |
“My manager’s instructions aren’t clear. How can I get clarity on my work and the expectations?” | “Over the last fortnight, the priorities for my work have shifted three times without a conversation. It’s made it hard to know what ‘done’ looks like, and I’ve redone work that was already approved. Could we set priorities at the start of each week and only adjust if something genuinely urgent comes in?” |
“I’m overwhelmed by notifications, emails, and messages at work” | “I’m copied into every email chain, teams, and Slack messages and received 37 emails yesterday, and you’ve just copied me into another one. It’s overwhelming and taking away my focus. Which aren’t essential for me to have the notifications on for, or could I schedule deep work focus blocks?” |
“How do I tell my boss they were rude or unfair?” | “In my review, you said I’d missed deadlines, and then brought it up in front of the team with comments that felt like you were blaming me. I’d already communicated the issues on delivery and delays ahead of time, so I don’t feel it reflected what actually happened. Could we rehash the example and agree on what’s accurate and what you think I should’ve done instead, so external factors don’t impact my record?” |
“My boss is taking credit for my work” | “I saw your post about the project success on LinkedIn last Tuesday the directors liked. It missed out the team, and I want to make sure they’re aware of my contributions. They may not realise the effort we’d all put into that. Are the team’s results fed back to them?” |
“How can I stop my manager from interrupting me?” | “In the morning calls, I frequently don’t get to finish my point and get everything I need, or get interrupted before finishing. It means I’ve been holding back on contributing, so it’d be helpful if everyone is allowed to finish speaking, even if their point is disagreed with.” |
“I need more support and training at work. How can I ask my boss?” | “Over the last six months, I’ve taken on more responsibility around employee relations and learning on the job, but had to come to you for support, like with the recent absences. It’s slowing down decisions and limiting how much I can take off your plate. I’d like to do the CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management. It would mean I could lead on cases like that independently, which directly maps to the work I’m already doing. The course is delivered online and bite-sized, so I can study alongside my role, and I’d develop skills we can use immediately. Could we look at the training budget together and agree on what’s possible this year?” |
Of course, we had to use the last example. We have an entire guide on how to get employer funding for your CIPD, too!
360-degree feedback: a system for effective leadership feedback
There’s one HR framework in particular that addresses this problem by:
– Effectively delivering feedback to managers on their management style and its impact
– Ensuring said feedback is diplomatic, objective, and not clouded by individual judgment
– Collating this feedback anonymously and through official channels, so employees can give feedback without fearing it may negatively impact their career
The framework is known as 360 Degree feedback.
360 degree feedback involves collecting perspectives on a manager’s behaviour from a variety of people who work and interact with them at multiple levels of the organisation, not just the person above them on the org chart.
The people who offer these perspectives are referred to in the framework as “raters”, and the “360” comes from the rounded variety of perspectives that make up the full picture:
Each rater group sees the manager from a different angle:
Subordinates
Definition:
The people who report directly to the manager.
Perspective:
Subordinates tend to observe leadership style, interpersonal behaviour, and the effects of the manager’s top-down decisions and communication on staff day-to-day.
Peers
Definition:
Colleagues at a similar level, either working alongside the manager on shared projects or in
the same function.
Perspective:
Peers can provide insights into the manager’s capacity for collaboration, communication across the business, and how they work with their direct “equals”.
Top-level management
Definition:
Senior leadership above the manager’s immediate boss: directors, executives, and the wider leadership team.
Perspective:
Top-level management typically focuses on strategic judgment, business impact, and how the manager represents their function upward.
Intermediate superiors
Definition:
The manager’s direct boss or line manager.
Perspective:
Intermediate superiors have the closest view of the manager in question’s performance outcomes, task delivery, and day-to-day decision-making.
Customers
Definition:
Clients, suppliers, partners, and any stakeholders outside the organisation who work with the manager.
Perspective:
See how the manager represents the company externally and handles relationships beyond the team.
Self
Definition:
The manager’s own assessment of themselves against the same criteria as other raters.
Perspective:
This reveals the difference between how the manager sees their own performance, behaviour and communication vs how they are perceived by others, thereby uncovering any “blind spots”.
This means managers get direct, holistic, structured, and balanced feedback that enables practical conversations about how they can improve their staff management.
For new managers, in particular, a structured 360 is one of the fastest ways to find out what’s actually working before bad habits set in.
How to make sure 360-degree feedback sticks
360-degree feedback is one of the most effective tools HR has for developing managers, but it’s only as good as the process around it.
The CIPD’s evidence review on performance feedback shows that feedback works when it’s designed well, but falls short when it isn’t. Here’s where 360 typically falls short, and what those participating in 360 feedback can do to close the gap:
Where 360 falls short | How to make feedback actually land |
Feedback that targets the person, not the behaviour, often triggers a defensive response rather than development. | Focus on observable behaviours, not personality traits. Anchor everything in what was done, not who the person is. |
In low-trust organisations, anonymity produces either performative responses or feedback so sanitised it’s useless | Trust has to come before the survey, not from it. If it isn’t there yet, build it through smaller upward feedback channels first. |
One-off feedback cycles produce insight that doesn’t lead to lasting behavioural change | Conduct 360s with follow-up conversations and clear development plans. |
Numerical scoring scales (1-5) can produce averages and results that hide the real effects of their management style. | Ensure that both qualitative (detailed explanations) and quantitative (numbered scores) feedback questions are used for the best results. |
The feedback itself: 3 questions to make it more effective
So now we have the framework for delivering manager feedback that’s well-rounded, structured, and unbiased. But how do you actually deliver the feedback itself to ensure it supports real development?
One of the most-cited works on this topic is The Power of Feedback, which provides a really useful framework for thinking about feedback and how it develops people.
Here it is:
“Feed up: where am I going?”
What does good look like for this manager? Which of their behaviours are being assessed? What’s the endpoint you want the manager to reach?
For a 360 cycle, this means agreeing on the behaviours that raters will score before the survey goes live.
Feedback: How am I going?
At what point is the manager now in terms of their management skills, and where should they be aiming to get to? And how can this be effectively benchmarked?
Scoring from 360-degree feedback should provide clear and objective answers to this.
Feed forward: Where to next?
How is the manager supposed to action the information they get from the feedback exercise? What’s the development plan?
Ensuring an internal feedback system covers this is key to ensuring the insights that managers receive actually lead to meaningful change and positive development.
How to give feedback to managers: key takeaways
Remember these four key principles to deliver more effective feedback to managers and leaders, and ensure it results in lasting change:
- Upward feedback needs a clear channel
Most workplaces are built for feedback to flow from manager to staff, not the other way round. Without a clear channel, employees stay quiet, and managers operate with a blind spot. - Use the SBI model
Situation, behaviour, impact. The more specific you are with examples, the behaviour you want to provide feedback on, and the impact on you, the team, the organisation, and them, the more productive the discussion. - 360-degree feedback is a holistic fix
By gathering anonymous input from people who see the manager at every level, the result is a fuller, fairer picture than any one viewpoint can give. - The process around 360 matters
Ensure feedback questions target behaviours, not people; focus on building trust before delivering anonymous feedback; follow up on the feedback with a clear development plan; and ensure both qualitative and quantitative feedback is captured. - Use the feed-up, feed-back, feed-forward framework
Agree where the manager is heading. Show them where they are now. Then give them a clear next step – this is how to give feedback that yields actual positive results.
Direct feedback is the right first step for almost every workplace behaviour issue. But there are exceptions.
CIPD qualifications for people management, learning and development
360-degree feedback is one of the most established tools in HR for developing managers. It’s widely taught across HR qualifications, including CIPD Level 5 and Level 7, and the CIPD’s evidence reviews on performance feedback offer useful guidance on how to design it well.
If you manage people or teams or are responsible for developing capabilities within your organisation, a CIPD course is the perfect way to level up your skills and expertise.
Two HRC courses are worth a look, depending on where your focus sits.
The CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management is built for managers and HR pros who want to develop stronger people strategies and enhance organisational impact.
The CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in Organisational Learning & Development is designed to help you develop management capabilities and implement effective learning strategies that stick.
