Giving effective feedback

I created this short ebook as a checklist, that you can read in a day - even if you're busy - and cover the basics of feedback, as well as some less-known phenomena like Pygmalion effect.

- Pawel

About the author: Ex-Google Tech Lead, with 10+ years of industry experience. Proudly wearing his “scars” from firefighting Chrome Infrastructure issues during fast growth. Now passionate about helping rational and productive colleagues thrive in tech.

Who is this book for? Engineering leaders seeking to build a fully engaged, extraordinary team, in a demanding business environment. There's no secret to this - but the basics matter and are reinforced throughout the book: don't blame your team; avoid destructive criticism; get clarity on how success looks like; don't expect perfect hindsight.

Who is this book NOT for?
❌ accomplished leaders with track record of repeated success; kudos - I likely can't add anything you don't already know (but feel free to share my book with others!)

❌ leaders who focus on appearances over substance, and expediency over doing the more difficult right thing

❌ leaders who already made up their mind, know better, and just want their team to "get it"

In theory, everybody knows this. In practice, it's easy to forget in the heat of an embarrassing outage, pressing deadlines, or a compelling narrative.

I go into controversial details that I don't see often discussed openly: double binds, passive-aggressive behaviors, labeling people, rubbing it in... to help you recognize them fast, and use more effective, emotionally mature 'tools'.

Are there more comprehensive resources on feedback?

Of course. Several colleagues recommended “Thanks for the Feedback” by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen. It's 300+ pages. In bibliography, I mention a few more fantastic books. My 28-page ebook aims to be a checklist and reference that you can keep using and sharing even when you're busy.

Let's keep in touch! Find me on LinkedIn (2.2K+ followers), Twitter/X, and my website pawelhajdan.com. Here's to creating more environments where rational and productive colleagues will thrive! 🚀

- Pawel Hajdan