If you’re like most people, you probably feel a lot of dread at the thought of having to give feedback. It’s hard, and it feels risky, but think about what happens when you don’t give it. I once had a team member I really liked; I’ll call him “Bob.” Bob was funny and likeable and had great experience. But his work wasn’t nearly good enough. In an effort to be “nice,” I gave him praise that was more of a head-fake. He would show me work that was absolutely horrible, and I would say, “This is such a great start, Bob. You are one of the smartest people I know, though, so I think you can make it even better!” He had no idea how bad I thought his work was, and wasn’t motivated to make it better. I didn’t give him any critical feedback. Ten months later, his work hadn’t improved, mostly because I hadn’t helped him see where the problems were or given him a chance to fix them. The people on my team who were doing great work were so unhappy working with Bob that they were threatening to quit! I ended up having to fire Bob. Not giving him feedback wasn’t so “nice” after all.