One real feedback conversation, start to finish.
Every step, on feedback a manager actually has to give. Nothing staged.
Type the praise and the problem, in rough.
You describe what's working and what needs to change, in your own words. No need to polish it. The tool's job is to take your honest, unshaped notes and turn them into feedback the person can hear and act on.
Jim notes both halves: the draft was genuinely strong, and Sarah kept seeking approval rather than backing herself. Both go in, exactly as he'd say them.
Empathetic or direct. The same truth, pitched two ways.
Different people need feedback delivered differently. Some want it warm and carefully framed, with space to absorb it. Others find that patronising and want it straight. Get this wrong in either direction and good feedback fails.
Sarah's confidence is the issue here, so Jim picks Empathetic: warm and supportive, still direct and clear. The honesty doesn't change. The framing does.
Your rough notes, reframed into something she can act on.
Out comes a note that opens with specific, genuine praise, then turns to the real issue using observation and impact: what Jim saw, and why it matters. It names what Sarah should do differently, in plain terms, grounded in belief she can do it.
It's specific, honest, and warm without being soft. You can copy it, email it, or edit it before you share. This is the document, the thing you read from or hand over.
And how to hold the conversation itself.
The second tab is for you alone. It tells you to give her advance notice, so the feedback doesn't land cold, and to ask her view before you give yours, because good people are harder on themselves than you'd be, and they land the point better when they reach it themselves.
It sets the tone for her confidence, says how much direction to give, what to listen for, and even a suggested opening line. The note is what you share. This is how you run the room.
