Abstract
Effective managerial communications, including performance feedback, support knowledge management, change processes, and innovation. For employees, feedback clarifies how their work contributes to the organisation, and helps identify performance issues and developmental pathways. For managers, feedback exchanges also present opportunities to elicit input from employees and to draw on their unique perspectives and talent. Achieving these outcomes requires that managers hone their feedback skills and develop an environment where both parties feel safe to communicate openly. Yet, many managers report discomfort around feedback exchanges, and some even avoid them. This study explores managers’ perceptions of their feedback quality and its relationship to feedback approaches. Data collected from 130 managers in a healthcare organisation in New Zealand shows that feedback quality perceptions are negatively impacted by a mum approach (avoidance and sugar-coating) and positively influenced by an employee-centred approach characterised by elicitation opportunities and supportive delivery. Implications for leadership and organisational development are outlined.