Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet

Book excerpt: Giving someone feedback can be a daunting task for a manager— especially when an employee is underperforming. To soften the blow, we sometimes refer to diffi cult feedback as “developmental” or “constructive.” But these phrases rarely prompt the type of productive conversations managers need to have with team members. Steve King, a longtime HR executive and leader in executive education, cuts to the chase with a simple and trusted framework on providing feedback. Think of how great it would be to break through the typical awkwardness of giving feedback and start having serious conversations about performance, development, and careers. Regardless of your role, if you want to give feedback to others on a regular basis, you need a proven approach to improve the quality of your conversations. It starts with four simple words—Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet. This second edition of Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet begins with new introductory remarks from Steve’s colleague and friend Betsy Hagan. Betsy has taught and coached thousands of managers on the effective use of BWWB and her insights help set the stage not only for the rest of the book, but for the effective use of this framework as well.