SHRM26 Debrief · Leadership & Development · #1560

From Panic to Pattern: Make Feedback Routine, Not Reactive

with Joe Rotella

▶ Watch on the SHRM portal ~73 min, distilled

Performance managementFeedback frameworksOne-on-ones

"Most performance problems, most, are expectation problems... It wasn't an effort problem, it wasn't an attitude problem, it wasn't a capability problem. It was an expectation problem."

What it was about

Managers don't avoid feedback because they lack the skill. They avoid it because of timing habits: fear of conflict, need for more evidence, hope, busyness. The fix is building feedback into a repeatable weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual pattern instead of waiting until a problem becomes a crisis.

By the numbers

80% of the time

Joe says he hears managers open one-on-ones with the dead-end question 'How's it going?' in roughly 80% of the check-ins he records/observes.

$16.99

Cost of the hosta plant Joe gave a CFO as spontaneous recognition.

$500 gift card

Comparison point Joe uses to argue the $16.99 hosta meant more than a generic $500 reward would have.

Key notes

Replace annual/mid-year performance reviews with a rhythm: weekly one-on-ones to stay connected, monthly coaching conversations with an agenda, quarterly reviews to refocus goals, and annual documentation as the artifact of the process (not the process itself).
Use the SBIN framework for every feedback conversation: Situation, Behavior, Impact, Next steps — and never make it about the person's character.
When setting expectations, ask 'What do you think it means to cross the finish line?' instead of telling people the goal, so both sides define success together before work begins.

The contrarian takeMost performance problems are not effort, attitude, or capability problems — they are expectation problems caused by managers assuming they were clear when they weren't, which reframes most 'performance issues' as a manager-communication failure rather than an employee shortcoming.

Take this back Monday

Do this for your team

Swap 'How's it going?' in your next one-on-one for 'What's getting in your way?' and 'What should we celebrate?'

Say this in your next leadership meeting

Most performance problems aren't effort or attitude problems, they're expectation problems, so we're building feedback into a weekly rhythm instead of waiting for the annual review.

Watch out for

Delaying difficult feedback conversations while waiting for more evidence, hoping the problem resolves itself, avoiding conflict, or claiming to be too busy — all of which make the eventual conversation harder, not easier.
Giving feedback about the person ('you're disruptive,' 'you didn't do a good job') instead of the specific observed behavior, which triggers defensiveness.
Micromanaging by asking for status updates constantly instead of setting a check-in cadence up front, which signals distrust.

Fun fact · Joe Rotella

Joe Rotella co-created miviva, a platform reinventing coaching and performance reviews with AI, after 30+ years in HR strategy and tech.

If this landed, see these

↳ Go deeperFuture-Ready Feedback: Transforming the F-Word with AIPairs the SBIN framework with an AI-assisted prep tool for the actual conversation.⇄ The counterpointThe Art and Science of Asking Transformative QuestionsSuggests great leaders lead with open questions, not a scripted four-letter framework.✦ The unexpected oneFrom Onboarding to Everboarding: Redefining Employee Development to Improve Performance and RetentionApplies the same 'no more one-time events' logic to onboarding instead of feedback.