Bringing Up the Boss

• Providing timely, constructive feedback is a core management responsibility, even though giving and receiving feedback is difficult.
• We avoid giving feedback to be liked and because individuals struggle receiving it since it threatens the ego.
• Effective feedback is objective, data-driven, and actionable.
• Great managers actively solicit input and praise courageous feedback.
• The key is to just start - it will get easier with practice.

• Putting employees on performance improvement plans when they underperform is key, though subconscious biases can inhibit objectivity.
• Effective PIPs have a timeline and focus on 3-4 improvement areas with clear action items.
• Celebrate PIP successes and use positive examples to shape the culture.

Understanding an individual's dominant motivational need for achievement, power, or affiliation helps structure work, praise, and rewards.

• Achievers are motivated by goals and progress.
• The power-motivated care about influence and competition.
• The affiliation-motivated care about community.

Discover needs by asking directly or using intake forms.

Goals motivate teams yet can also create unintended consequences like unethical behavior, short-term thinking, and stifled innovation.

In startups, static goals poorly fit the dynamic environment. When goal setting, be mindful of downsides and don't force goals if they don't fit the culture.

Compensation often motivates irrationally. People loathe small losses more than they like equivalent gains, an effect called loss aversion.

• Employees care more about relative versus absolute pay due to equity theory.
• The perceived fairness of the compensation process itself also matters.
• A philosophy explaining the rationale behind pay decisions is key.

Promotions and titles strongly motivate achievement-driven employees yet can backfire if handled poorly. Base promotions on demonstrated competence, outperformance of peers, and legitimate new role needs.

Set proper expectations around promotions and use competency matrices. Be cautious with titles as they are hard to rescind and easily devalued if given too freely.

• Managers can make daily work meaningful through role design choices like task significance, autonomy, and feedback.
• "Job crafting" helps reframe activities to align with motives and purpose.

• Pressures to hide emotions at work lead to detachment and burnout.
• "Emotional labor" is the gap between felt and required emotions.
• "Emotional contagion" spreads moods rapidly between team members.
• Allow authentic self-expression but limit contagion's impact.
• Recognize emotions exist.

• Communication deteriorates as firms grow.
• The key is frequent, repetitive communication.
• Clarify expectations around what will and won't be shared.
• Use specific language to build commitment and closeness.
• Formalize through weekly emails, meeting summaries, and defined strategies.