Let's Talk - by Therese Huston (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Recent studies have revealed 44% of managers dread giving feedback, and 65% of employees wish their managers gave more feedback. But fear of hurt feelings leads managers to bite back valuable insights. Or they rehearse feedback conversations obsessively in advance--only to find the interchange still doesn't go as planned. However, critical feedback, delivered skillfully and frequently, can be a game-changer ... Dr. Therese Huston ... argues that the key to being listened to is to listen. First, find out what kind of feedback an employee wants most: do they want to be appreciated, coached, or evaluated?"--

Book Synopsis

A game-changing model for giving effective feedback to peers, employees, or even your boss--without offending or demotivating.

How are you supposed to tell someone that they're not meeting expectations without crushing their spirit? Regular feedback, when delivered skillfully, can turn average performers into the hardest workers and stars into superstars. Yet many see it as an awkward chore: Recent studies have revealed 37% of managers dread giving feedback, and 65% of employees wish their managers gave more feedback.

This trail-blazing new model eliminates the guesswork. Dr. Therese Huston, the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University, discovered that the key to being listened to is to listen. First, find out what kind of feedback an employee wants most: appreciation, coaching, or evaluation. If they crave one, they'll be more receptive once their need has been satisfied. Then Huston lays out counterintuitive strategies for delivering each type of feedback successfully, including:

Start by saying your good intentions out loud: it may feel unnecessary, but it makes all the difference.

Side with the person, not the problem: a bad habit or behavior is probably less entrenched than you think.

Give reports a chance to correct inaccurate feedback: they want an opportunity to talk more than they want you to be a good talker.

This handbook will make a once-stressful ordeal feel natural, and, by greasing the wheels of regular feedback conversations, help managers improve performance, trust, and mutual understanding.

Review Quotes

Praise for Let's Talk

"Giving great feedback--whether recognition, coaching or evaluation--is a game-changer when it comes to helping each other do our best work. We know that. And yet, it's incredibly difficult to do it well, in a way that's useful, fair, and strengthen relationships. Let's Talk breaks down giving feedback with the latest research, relevant stories, and actionable frameworks that we can all apply to turn feedback into a personal superpower."
--Julie Zhuo, bestselling author of Making of a Manager

"Imagine being known as the person who makes those around them both successful and happy. Mastering how to give good feedback is essential. This book helps you navigate through the competing theories to become a feedback-giving maestro."
--Michael Bungay Stanier, bestselling author of The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap

"It's easy to go your whole career giving well-intentioned but useless feedback. This brilliant book identifies the most common mistakes managers make with surgical precision, and empowers you with ninja listening skills, emotional management techniques, and whip-smart scripts to create real behavior change and lasting trust."
--Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable

"If you've ever been afraid to deliver constructive criticism, this book is for you. It's full of practical examples and tactical tips to show you how to become an expert on giving feedback that works, and the type of leader that everyone will want to follow."
--Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, authors of No Hard Feelings

"I was impressed by Let's Talk's treatment of unconscious bias. The recommended practices allow managers to bypass influences of gender stereotypes that hinder the careers of strong women."
--Anthony Greenwald, bestselling co-author of Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People

"Therese Huston delivers a pep talk, toolkit, and decoding of employee behavior, all in one. Using both stories and science, she leaves us wiser, braver, fairer, and better. This book is a gift that belongs within arm's reach of every manager at all times."
--Dolly Chugh, author of The Person You Mean to Be and Associate Professor at NYU Stern

"Rarely does an author make research so readable--and enjoyably instructive! You'll learn more about how you give feedback now versus how you can get better at it, engaging with people of all kinds. Therese's structure, descriptions, practices, and nuanced stories covering sensitive situations achieve something rare for a management book--entertainment, education, and humanity rolled into one."
--Joanna Barsh, bestselling author of How Remarkable Women Lead and Grow Wherever You Work

"Let's Talk belongs in the hands of every supervisor who wants to give effective feedback. Full of practical suggestions undergirded by workplace research, this user-friendly guide will give you the tools you need to bring out the best in the people you work with. Highly recommended! "
--Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD., author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations About Race

"If you've got hard feedback to give and want to strengthen a relationship, not test it, Let's Talk is your go-to guide. Therese Huston provides a better way to cultivating a positive, supportive environment, one where you don't write people off but see them instead as individuals with potential, resulting in helping them become the best version of themselves."
--Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Transcend and host of The Psychology Podcast

About the Author

Dr. Therese Huston received her MS and PhD in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. Huston was the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University. She has written for The New York Times and the Harvard Business Review and has a robust speaking schedule, presenting regularly for academic audiences, businesses, and conferences. She has previously given talks at Microsoft, Amazon, TEDxStLouis, and Harvard Business School. Huston is the author of Teaching What You Don't Know and How Women Decide. This is her third book.