Foundation 19 of 20 · Lead
Silence Is Feedback. It Just Says the Wrong Thing.
"How do I tell someone their work isn't good enough?" If you think your employee knows they are doing well because you have not fired them, they probably think the opposite. Here is how to give feedback on poor performance, and on good performance, every week.
Last Updated: 10/25/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
What Is Performance Feedback?
Textbook Definition
Performance feedback is ongoing, specific communication between a manager and an employee about how well the employee is meeting expectations, including what is going well and what needs to improve.
In Plain English
Feedback is telling people, regularly and specifically, what they are doing well and what to fix. Without it, people guess how they are doing. They usually guess wrong, and they usually guess the worst.
Why It Matters
Why Is "No News Is Good News" So Expensive?
Here is how two good people end up in a mess. The owner thinks the employee knows they are doing well, because they have not been fired. The employee thinks they are about to be fired, because nobody said they are doing well. Both are sure they know what the other is thinking. Both are wrong.
When nobody says anything, people do not hear nothing. They fill in the silence, and they fill it with the worst thing. Good people leave thinking they are failing. People who are struggling never learn what to fix. A short weekly check-in closes that gap.
Signs you have this problem:
- You only give feedback when something goes wrong, or once a year.
- You quietly redo an employee's work instead of telling them.
- Your highest praise is a one-word note they have to interpret.
- An employee seems nervous every time you check their work.
- You find out someone was job hunting after they give notice.
- You fix things that are different from your way, not things that are wrong.
What It Looks Like
What It Looks Like When Nobody Says Anything
From the Fabled Forest · Chapter 19
Alton the Ant finally hired an apprentice, and she was excellent. She labeled every wire before she touched it. She fixed jobs quickly and got them right. Alton checked every job she did, nodded once, and left without a word.
Some mornings she found her work redone, her wires moved from the right side to the left. Nobody told her why. The only praise she had ever gotten was a single word on a page from her second day. She had carried it in her pocket for months, sure it meant she was barely getting by.
She had an interview lined up at a competitor. Alton, meanwhile, thought she was the best apprentice he had ever had. He had just never said so.
Alton and Pippa's story is Chapter 19 of Management and Leadership for Small Businesses, Book 1 of Dr. Paul's Fabled Forest Business School Series.
The Fix
How to Give Feedback in a 10-Minute Weekly Check-In
Not a speech. Not an annual review. A short, regular conversation that goes both ways.
Schedule ten minutes a week with each person.
Same day, same time. Put it on the calendar. The point is that feedback becomes normal, not an event.
Ask what went well, and say exactly what you saw.
Not "good job." Name the specific thing: "You labeled every wire before you took it apart. That is better than I do it."
Ask what needs fixing, and share only what truly needs fixing.
Not what you would have done differently. What actually needs to change, and why. If their way works, stop redoing it.
Ask what they need from you. Write it down.
Then follow up next week. This is the question that turns a check-in into a two-way conversation, and it is where you learn about problems before they become fires.
Dr. Paul's Insight
The trap to watch for is saving all your feedback for a once-a-year review. By then, the good work has gone unnoticed for months and the small problems have become habits. And watch your words. A word that means high praise to you might mean "barely good enough" to them, unless you explain it.
Sample: A 10-Minute Weekly Check-In
Use the same three questions every week. Write down the answers.
| 1. What went well this week? | Specific: "You labeled every wire on the dentist's machine before you opened it. That is better than I do it." |
| 2. What should be fixed? | Only what truly needs fixing: "Customers do not know how long a job will take. Tell them before you start." |
| 3. What do you need from me? | Their answer, written down. Example: "To know if I am in trouble." Your answer: "You are not." |
| Follow-up | Check last week's answers first. Did you do what they needed? Did they fix the one thing? |
Sample for illustration. Same three questions, every week.
The Shortcut That Costs More
Keep Them Guessing So They Work Harder?
In the book, a company called Talon and Beak keeps offering owners shortcuts. Every one is legal. Every one sounds reasonable. Every one costs more than it saves. Here is the one in Chapter 19.
Never tell workers how they are doing. Uncertain workers work harder.
They do work harder, for about a season.
They work harder at finding the exit, and the good ones find it first.
Uncertainty is not motivation. It is stress, and stressed people leave. Clear, regular feedback is what keeps good people and helps struggling people improve.
Watch
Video: The 10-Minute Weekly Check-In
How to Give an Employee Feedback on Poor Performance
Dr. Paul runs a sample check-in with the three questions on screen.
From the Book
What Does One Word Mean?
Chapter 19 · Performance Feedback
Nobody Knows How They Are Doing: An Ant's Silence
Pippa reached into her pocket and took out a folded page. It was soft from being folded and unfolded many times. At the bottom, in Alton's small, exact handwriting, was one word.
Acceptable.
"That's from my second day," said Pippa. "It's the nicest thing he's ever said to me." She looked at it. "I looked it up. It means good enough. Barely."
What did Alton mean by that word, and did Pippa go to the interview? Find out, and get the check-in scroll, in Chapter 19. Book 1 of Dr. Paul's Fabled Forest Business School Series.
Get the Book on Amazon →FAQ
Performance Feedback Questions
How do you tell an employee their work is not good enough?
What is a check-in meeting?
How often should managers give feedback?
What is the difference between feedback and recognition?
Keep Going
Related Foundations
Performance feedback connects to four other foundations. All of them depend on saying things out loud. New to a term on this page? Every one is in the small business management glossary.
Foundation 11 · SMART Goals
Clear goals make feedback easier: you both know what good looks like.
Foundation 14 · Conflict Resolution
When feedback turns into conflict, look past positions to interests.
Foundation 15 · Employee Motivation
Recognition is half of what keeps good people.
Foundation 17 · Onboarding
Feedback starts in week one and never really stops.
Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business consultant, author, and educator with 14+ years and 1,000+ clients served. Want help having the hard conversation with an employee? Dr. Paul works with owners one-on-one.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, tax, accounting, or other professional advice. Dollar figures are illustrations. The Fabled Forest and its characters are fictional. For decisions about your own business, consult a qualified professional.