8. The Sandwich

What goes wrong? The sandwich practice is a cousin of the "You did a good job, but…" approach. It's when managers sandwich criticism between two positive statements. This method can create a "waiting for the other shoe to drop" environment where attempts at social reinforcement are received with suspicion. While it makes it easier for the manager to deliver bad news to the performer, it does nothing to protect the ego of the latter. In spite of the fact that it is commonly taught in management training as effective, I can find no data to support this practice as effective.

What to do instead? Be direct. If some behavior needs correcting, pinpoint the behavior to be stopped: Tell the person the consequences of continuing the undesirable behavior. Then discuss the behavior you want to see in its place and make sure to positively reinforce all instances of the new behavior.