Writing on Fortune, contributor Daniel Debow posed the question that is sure to make employees a little antsy. In an article provocatively titled "When you're the boss, who gives you reviews?" Debow tackles the age-old problem of the challenges inherent to soliciting feedback from one's employees. While his anecdote alluded to a CEO, the situation is not entirely dissimilar to that of a CIO and his IT team.

One of the obstacles that gets in the way appears to be the problem of magnification. Observed one executive coach, "Employees tend to exaggerate the importance of anything the CEO says." The result is that any criticism or even negativity pertaining to any feedback is greatly amplified. And if adequate care is not taken by the senior executive to moderate this, subordinates quickly shut down and stop speaking up even when asked for an honest review.

So what can CEOs (and CIOs) do about this? Debow suggests that review forms should be de-emphasized, but attention paid instead to the "frequent bits of feedback that actually promotes learning." And this feedback "should be ongoing and conversational."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Fortune

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