Hide student question NETFLIX Companies like Netflix say harsh feedback improves their employees' work, but experts suggest bosses aren't always the best judge of performance. Leadership experts say the feedback process at most workplaces is highly flawed. That's because performance assessment is very subjective, and it doesn't always resonate with employees. Many bosses are realising this, and relying more on objective data. Giving employees feedback is, supposedly, about telling them what they did wrong and hoping they'll fix it. But the feedback process itself may have some glaring flaws. In a recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, leadership experts Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall took aim at workplaces that are moving toward more frequent (and more candid) performance assessments. In particular, they mentioned Bridgewater and Netflix, which reportedly have cultures of "radical transparency," i.e. constant harsh feedback meant to improve everyone's work. The main problem, as Buckingham and Goodall see it, is that the truth about employee performance is hard to achieve. "In extrapolating from what creates our own performance to what might create performance in others," they write, "we overreach." Another HBR article, published in 2018, featured Harvard Business School doctoral candidate Paul Green arguing that criticism is all but ineffective, specifically because people realise it's subjective. "There's an assumption that what motivates people to improve is the realization that they're not as good as they think they are," Green told HBR. "But in fact, it just makes them go find people who will not shine that light on them." Buckingham and Goodall, the authors of the forthcoming book "Nine Lies About Work," outline a series of strategies for making feedback more useful. For example, instead of offering a general assessment of the person's behaviour, they recommend sharing your personal reaction. They write: "Use phrases such as 'This is how that came across for me,' or 'This is what that made me think,' or even just 'Did you see what you did there?' Those are your reactions - they are your truth - and when you relay them in specific detail, you aren't judging or rating or fixing her; you're simply reflecting to her the unique 'dent' she just made in the world, as seen through your eyes." The leadership at Netflix is under pressure to review their overall performance practices in order to improve employee performance and ultimately, the performance of the company as a whole. That leaves open the question of what a manager should provide in the way of feedback and guidance. As the report indicates, the key question that remains is, "How should companies blend feedback into their day-today operational activities?" In the article, Paul Green argues that, criticism is all but ineffective, specifically because people realise it's subjective. In light of this statement, advise Netflix management by identifying and discussing (ANY) TWO interpersonal skills they could incorporate when conducting a performance review.