Tell HN: Give the “why” behind your feedback, else you'll warp team's behavior

There was a time when I was constantly given feedback to the tune of "this isn't good enough, change it to [manager's opinion]". I've worked in tech marketing, where this is extremely common.

I'd ask why, but often the reason wasn't well articulated, or it wasn't articulated "customer-first". This in turn led me to change my behavior so that I was doing things to get my manager's approval, and not because I wanted to communicate clearly/better with our customers.

That was incredibly frustrating... the realization that you're doing something so that the manager approves of it, or lets it go live. And I never knew if I was right or wrong, it would all depend on the manager's opinion at the time of reckoning. I suspect the larger impact of this seeping into a company's culture can be catastrophic, since many teams' north-star becomes "what will he/she think?", versus doing better for their customers.

After I started managing people, I made the same mistake. But at least I can recognize it now, and make an honest attempt to explain the "why" behind any feedback I'm giving.

If I can't give a "why" for a subjective opinion or feedback, then I think harder about it, and try to understand why I "feel" that ways. I think this helps those reporting to me grow, and gets them to think about how the customer will perceive our marketing communication.

So yeah, if you're managing people, please give the "why".

Edit: grammar.