Bernard Coleman III
SVP People
Swing Education
Episode 151
Stop Blaming Employees: Self-Aware Managers Drive True Growth
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJune 11, 2025 · 8:49
Thesis
“Effective HR leadership and people management are fundamentally rooted in self-awareness and a genuine commitment to an employee's growth, necessitating consistent, constructive feedback over infrequent evaluations.”
Show notes
Bernard Coleman III describes his career as sitting at the intersection of people, tech, and policy — a frame forged by stints at the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Uber, and Gusto. It's an unusual résumé for an HR leader, and it produces an equally unusual perspective: someone who thinks about people management through the lens of large-scale organizational behavior, political strategy, and the structural conditions that either enable or undermine human performance.
His core insight on management is disarmingly simple and widely ignored: self-awareness. Not the bumper-sticker kind, but the specific capacity to recognize when a team member's performance problem reflects a communication failure on your side rather than a capability failure on theirs. "The thing I see lacking in many managers is self-awareness." Before attributing underperformance to a direct report, Bernard asks managers to audit their own clarity, consistency, and feedback quality first. It's an uncomfortable inversion — and a necessary one.
His framework for coaching is equally grounded: "skill and will." Both have to be present for a turnaround to work. A manager can invest in skill-building, but if the employee isn't invested in their own growth, the effort won't compound. Recognizing that distinction early saves everyone time. And his argument for frequent one-on-ones over infrequent formal reviews is practical: you can't course-correct a quarter's worth of drift in a single performance conversation. Feedback should be directional, continuous, and delivered while it's still actionable.
- Self-awareness as the foundational management competency — and why most managers fail to develop it
- The "skill and will" framework — how to diagnose whether a performance problem is coachable
- Continuous one-on-ones over infrequent reviews — why timing of feedback is as important as content
- Career lessons from politics and tech — what the DNC, Hillary Clinton's campaign, and Uber each taught about managing people at scale
- Genuine commitment to employee growth — especially for early-career professionals where the manager's investment compounds over time
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What you'll take away
- 1Distinguish performance issues by assessing an employee's 'skill and will'; coaching requires investment from both sides.
- 2Managers must cultivate self-awareness to recognize their own communication shortcomings before attributing performance issues solely to employees.
- 3Consistent, frequent one-on-ones are critical for delivering timely, directional feedback, rather than 'unloading' during infrequent performance reviews.
- 4A manager's mindset should include a commitment to an employee's growth, especially for early-career individuals, provided there's mutual investment.
- 5Self-awareness is a foundational skill for all leaders and individual contributors to identify personal blockers and strengths, enabling better contributions to teams and companies.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Managers who 'coddle' employees by avoiding difficult feedback are 'kicking the can down the road,' leading to less effective long-term development.
- •The traditional approach of infrequent performance reviews for delivering substantial feedback is 'highly ineffective' compared to continuous, iterative conversations.
In Bernard's words
“I like to think that I sit at the intersection of people, tech, and policy.”
This quote defines Bernard's unique background and the lens through which he approaches HR leadership.
“I think it's a matter of skill and will because coaching obviously requires an investment. But I think when you're coaching someone, they also have to be invested.”
This highlights the reciprocal nature of effective coaching and the importance of an employee's commitment to growth.
“I think the thing that I see that's lacking in many managers is self-awareness.”
This identifies a critical missing component in managerial effectiveness and problem-solving.
“Practice makes perfect. And I think even when back in the day when I was in college, I was on the track team, right? You needed feedback from your coach if you want to improve your technique.”
This analogy clearly illustrates the need for continuous and timely feedback in professional development.
“I think being self-aware and understanding your patterns, because it's hard to work on others or contribute to others and their success if you don't know what your blockers are and also what your strengths are.”
This summarizes his core parting advice, emphasizing self-knowledge as fundamental to impactful leadership and personal growth.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Managers struggle to determine if employee performance issues are due to individual limitations or their own management shortcomings.
- •Managers avoid delivering difficult feedback, leading to delayed course correction and unresolved performance problems.
- •Ineffective performance review cycles where feedback is hoarded and 'unloaded' on employees, causing surprise and resentment.
- •Lack of manager self-awareness hinders their ability to identify and address their own destructive patterns in team dynamics.
- •Employees who are unwilling to invest in their own growth make coaching efforts unproductive for managers.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
You started at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee 20 years ago
WSJD Live: The Career Journey
Murdaugh made a difficult decision between coaching or letting go of an employee
The Difficult Decision Between Coaching and Letting Go
How does a leader effectively distinguish between when employee's performance issues stem from own limitations
How to Realize When Your Team Is Struggling
Bernard has successfully turned around a challenging employee situation through coaching
Managing Challenges Through Coaching
How do new managers deliver difficult feedback effectively, especially for new managers
How to Deliver Difficult Feedback effectively
Rodar, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
A Lesson on Self-Advancement
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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