The best feedback for a manager is specific, describes the effect on your work, and ends with a request or a question. Use the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) structure, for example: "In Monday's meeting you asked each of us for a view before deciding (situation and behavior), and I felt my input counted (impact)." The 30+ feedback for manager examples below show a positive and a constructive version for eight common situations.
Most people never give their manager honest feedback, and most managers say they want it. The gap is rarely willingness. It's a lack of words that feel safe to say out loud.
You'll find those words below, along with advice on when to say them face to face and when an anonymous survey is the better channel.
Key Takeaways
- Upward feedback is feedback from a direct report to the person who manages them, and it works best when it follows SBI: situation, behavior, impact.
- Give positive feedback for manager habits you want repeated, and constructive feedback as a problem you need help solving, not a verdict on the person.
- Use face-to-face feedback for everyday topics and an anonymous survey for sensitive ones such as fairness, workload and psychological safety.
- FeedbackPulse keeps anonymous survey results locked until 3 completed responses exist, and masks every department, location and employee-level slice below 3.
- On a team of 2, true anonymity is impossible. Use a named conversation or a skip-level meeting instead.
What is upward feedback?
Upward feedback is input that an employee gives to their own manager about how that manager's behavior affects their work. It can be spoken in a one-to-one, written in a review, or collected through an upward survey. It differs from a performance review because the person with less formal power is the one speaking.
A simple formula covers almost every example on this page. Say what happened, what the manager did, and what it caused. Then add a request.
| Part | What to write | Positive example | Constructive example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Situation | When and where | "In last Thursday's standup" | "In the last three sprint plans" |
| Behavior | What the manager did | "you shared the client's feedback in full" | "new tasks were added after we'd committed" |
| Impact | What it caused | "so we fixed the right problem first" | "so two of us worked late to finish" |
| Request | What you'd like next | "Could we do that for every client call?" | "Could we freeze scope after planning?" |
For a deeper look at the structure, see our guide to the SBI feedback model.
Feedback for manager examples by situation
Each table below pairs a positive version with a constructive version. Swap in your own detail, because names, dates and numbers are what make feedback believable.
For harsher criticism, see the scripts in our guide to negative feedback examples, which also covers feedback to your boss.
Communication and clarity
Unclear direction is the most common complaint employees have about managers, and clear direction is the habit most worth praising.
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "When you wrote the project brief with the goal, the deadline and who decides, I could start without chasing anyone. That saved me about a day of questions." |
| Positive | "In the reorg update you said what you knew and what you didn't. It stopped the rumors, and I felt trusted with the truth." |
| Constructive | "On the Q3 launch I got three different versions of the goal over two weeks, and I rebuilt the deck twice. A single written brief at kickoff would help me avoid rework." |
| Constructive | "When decisions reach us through other teams first, we look out of the loop in front of clients. Could you share them with us before they're announced?" |
Recognition and appreciation
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "After the outage you named the people who stayed late in the all-hands. That made the extra hours feel seen, and I'd happily do it again." |
| Positive | "You gave feedback on my draft the same day and credited my idea in the leadership update. I felt my work mattered beyond my own team." |
| Constructive | "When our team hit its target and the only response was the next target, the effort felt invisible. A short thank-you, even one line, would keep me motivated." |
| Constructive | "I've noticed praise tends to go to the most visible projects. My renewals work is quieter, and I'd like it recognized too." |
Workload and priorities
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "When you asked which of my three projects could slip before adding the fourth, I felt my capacity was respected. I delivered the fourth one better as a result." |
| Positive | "You blocked Friday afternoons for focus time. I finish more in those four hours than in a normal day." |
| Constructive | "When priorities change mid-week without notice, I can't finish what I committed to. Could we agree on a way to flag changes and decide what drops?" |
| Constructive | "Over the past month I've had urgent requests after 6 pm on four occasions. Could we agree on which situations truly need an evening reply?" |
Development and growth
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "You asked me what I wanted to learn and then gave me the vendor negotiation to lead. Having a stretch project with your backing has done more for me than any course." |
| Positive | "The feedback on my presentation named two specific habits to change. I used both and the next one went better." |
| Constructive | "We've talked about my path to senior analyst twice, but there's no written plan yet. Could we set two skills and a review date this quarter?" |
| Constructive | "Most of my feedback arrives at the annual review, six months after the work. I'd benefit from short, regular input so I can adjust sooner." |
Meetings
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "In the weekly planning meeting you ask the quieter people for their view first. I've started speaking up more because of it." |
| Positive | "You send an agenda a day ahead. I come prepared, and we finish in 30 minutes instead of 60." |
| Constructive | "In the last four team meetings we ran 20 minutes over without a clear decision, and it cuts into my deep-work time. Could we set a decision owner for each item?" |
| Constructive | "When two people talk over others, the discussion goes to the loudest voice. Could you step in and invite the rest of us?" |
Decision-making
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "You explained why we chose the second vendor, including what we gave up. Even though I'd preferred the first, I could back the decision." |
| Positive | "You made a call on the pricing question within a day instead of letting it linger. It unblocked three of us." |
| Constructive | "The decision to change the onboarding flow was made before the team who runs it was asked. Could we be consulted earlier on changes that affect our work?" |
| Constructive | "When a decision is reversed without explanation, I'm unsure whether to act on the next one. A sentence on what changed would help." |
Psychological safety
This is the area where an anonymous survey is usually the safer channel. See the section on safety below before raising it in person.
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "When I flagged the pricing error you said thank you for catching it before the client did. That makes me more likely to report problems early." |
| Positive | "You admitted in the retro that your estimate was wrong. It made it easier for the rest of us to admit ours." |
| Constructive | "When a mistake is raised in front of the group, people stop raising them. I'd feel safer if corrections happened one to one first." |
| Constructive | "After my question in the all-hands got a sharp answer, I've kept my questions to myself. I'd like to find a way to ask that works for both of us." |
Remote and hybrid management
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | "You write decisions in the team channel with the reasoning. Those of us in a different time zone never lose a day waiting for context." |
| Positive | "You check in on how I'm doing, not just what I've shipped. On a remote team that matters more than it would in an office." |
| Constructive | "Important updates sometimes arrive only in the Thursday call, and I'm in a different time zone. Could the decisions also be posted in writing?" |
| Constructive | "Remote check-ins are mostly status updates. A short regular conversation about how I'm doing would help me feel connected." |
Mini-scenario: from silence to a specific request
Ngozi Eze, a customer support analyst at a 40-person logistics company, had been working through her team's ticket backlog while her manager Kwabena kept adding urgent escalations. For two months she said nothing and quietly worked evenings.
Then she wrote down one situation: "In the last three weeks, five escalations arrived after 4 pm on Fridays, and I worked past 7 pm to clear them." She added the impact (she missed two handovers) and a request: "Could escalations after 4 pm be triaged to Monday unless a customer is at risk?"
Kwabena hadn't realized the pattern. They agreed a rule, and Ngozi's Friday evenings were back within a week. The specifics did the work: a vague "I'm overloaded" would have gotten sympathy but no change.
How to give feedback to your boss face to face
Face-to-face feedback works best for everyday topics when you have a reasonable level of trust. These steps make it easier to land.
- Pick one topic. Raise one pattern, not a list of grievances.
- Ask for time in advance. "Could I get 15 minutes in our one-to-one to share some feedback on how we handle priorities?" signals that this is a conversation, not an ambush.
- Open with the shared goal. "I want to deliver the launch well, and I think one thing is getting in the way."
- Use SBI. Situation, behavior and impact, in that order, in two or three sentences.
- Ask a question. "What's your view?" turns a complaint into a conversation.
- Agree one next step. A date, a rule or a trial is enough. Follow up in writing so it doesn't get lost.
Two further rules protect you. Don't give feedback in public or in the moment of frustration.
And if a manager responds defensively, don't argue. Say "I'd like you to think about it", and revisit it later.
Giving feedback on my manager in an anonymous upward survey
An anonymous survey changes the job. The manager can't ask a follow-up question, and the aggregated answer is only useful if it's concrete. If you're wondering what to write in manager feedback, use these rules:
- Answer one question at a time. Stay on the topic asked.
- Describe behavior, not character. "Decisions are announced without explanation" beats "doesn't care."
- Say what would help. A suggestion makes the comment actionable.
- Remove identifying detail. Skip the one project, meeting or conversation only you were part of.
- Include something that works. Positive comments tell the manager what to keep.
| Weak comment | Stronger comment |
|---|---|
| "Communication is bad." | "We learn about priority changes from other teams before we hear them from our manager. A short written update on Mondays would help." |
| "Doesn't support us." | "When we raise a blocker, we get a reply days later. A set time each week to clear blockers would help." |
| "Great manager." | "Weekly focus time and clear briefs make it easy to plan my week. Please keep both." |
For ready-made survey questions to use in this format, see our companion guide to manager feedback survey questions.
Ready to ask your team? Anonymous surveys in FeedbackPulse are free for up to 10 people.
What makes upward feedback safe
Employees give honest feedback about a manager only when they believe it can't be traced back to them. A promise that something is anonymous doesn't build that belief. A rule that can be checked does.
FeedbackPulse uses two rules for anonymous surveys:
- Results stay locked until 3 completed responses exist. Nobody, including admins, can see the results of an anonymous survey before that.
- Every slice masks below 3. Department, location and employee-level breakdowns each stay hidden until that group has at least 3 completed responses, so a filter can't isolate one person.
This protects numbers and breakdowns. It's the same minimum-group logic explained in our guide to survey anonymity thresholds, which also covers why a threshold reduces risk but doesn't guarantee anonymity.
The honest limit: small teams
A threshold can't create anonymity that the team size doesn't allow. On a team of 2, true anonymity is impossible. The manager knows the answer came from one of two people, so there's no one to hide behind. FeedbackPulse won't unlock anonymous results below 3 completed responses, so a two-person team's survey would never show results. Roll the team into a larger group, or use a skip-level conversation instead.
Teams of 3 or 4 are better but still fragile. The manager can guess who wrote a distinctive comment from its wording or its subject, even when no tool shows the author. If your team is small:
- Write comments in generic terms and leave out identifying detail.
- Prefer rating questions over open comments when the group is small.
- Combine feedback across teams at the department level, where the group is larger.
- Use a skip-level meeting for sensitive issues, where a more senior leader hears concerns directly and knows who is speaking.
Mini-scenario: when a survey is the right channel
Dmitri Volkov runs people operations for a 60-person design agency. In a face-to-face check-in, two of his team leads told him there was no problem with how one department head ran project meetings. Then he ran an anonymous upward survey across the department's 11 people.
The comment themes were consistent: meetings ran long, quiet people were talked over, and decisions were reversed afterwards.
The minimum response threshold reduced the risk of identifying an individual; it did not guarantee anonymity. Sharing themes rather than raw comments added another layer of protection.
Dmitri shared the themes (not the comments) with the department head, who agreed to name a decision owner for each meeting. Eight weeks later the same question scored higher. The survey surfaced what the room hadn't.
Face to face or anonymous survey: which should you use?
| Situation | Better channel | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small, low-risk habit (agenda, timing) | Face to face | Quick, personal and easy to fix |
| Praise for a specific behavior | Face to face and survey | The manager benefits from hearing it both ways |
| Fairness, favoritism or workload patterns | Anonymous survey | Safer when the manager is part of the problem |
| Psychological safety concerns | Anonymous survey or skip-level | Risk of retaliation is highest here |
| Team of 2 | Named conversation or skip-level | An anonymous survey can't protect you |
| A pattern across many people | Anonymous survey | Shows scale, not one person's complaint |
A good rule is that the more a topic could cost the person speaking, the more it belongs in an anonymous channel, provided the group is large enough.
What managers should do with the feedback
Feedback only helps if the manager acts on it, and the employees who gave it can see that they did. Managers who get upward feedback should:
- Say thank you, even if the feedback is uncomfortable.
- Share the themes with the team within a week.
- Pick one or two changes and say when they will start.
- Check back after a month: "Is this better?"
Employees stop giving feedback the moment they see nothing happen. Closing the loop, as described in our guide to the employee feedback loop, keeps the next round honest.
Conclusion
Feedback for a manager is easier to give and to hear when it's specific, tied to impact, and paired with a request. Use SBI, offer a positive version alongside the constructive one, and match the channel to the risk: a private conversation for everyday habits, an anonymous survey for sensitive topics, and a skip-level meeting when the team is too small for anonymity.
Pick one example from the tables above and adapt it to a real situation from this week. If you're a leader who wants honest feedback on how your managers are doing, start an anonymous survey and let the results show you where to look first.
Frequently asked questions
What is an example of good feedback for a manager?
A good example is specific and names the impact: 'In Tuesday's planning meeting you asked for my view before the decision was made. That made me feel the plan was partly mine, and I put more care into the estimate.' It describes a situation, a behavior and the effect on you, so the manager knows exactly what to repeat.
How do you give feedback to your boss without hurting your career?
Describe the effect on your work rather than the manager's character, and ask for help solving it. For example: 'When priorities change mid-week, I struggle to finish what I committed to. Could we agree on a way to flag changes earlier?' Choose a private moment, keep it to one topic, and use an anonymous survey if the topic feels too risky to raise in person.
What should I write in manager feedback?
Write one situation, one behavior and one effect, then a suggestion. Avoid labels like micromanager or unsupportive, and avoid details that identify you in an anonymous survey, such as a unique project or a one-off conversation. Balance the comment with something the manager does well, so the feedback reads as useful rather than hostile.
Should feedback on my manager be anonymous?
It depends on the topic and the relationship. Use face-to-face feedback for everyday, low-risk topics where you trust the manager. Use an anonymous upward survey for sensitive themes such as fairness, workload or psychological safety. Anonymity needs enough respondents to hold, so a team of two cannot be truly anonymous and should use another channel, such as a skip-level conversation.
How do you give constructive feedback to a manager in an upward survey?
Answer the question as asked, name the behavior rather than the person, and describe what changes if it improves. For example: 'Decisions on the roadmap are made in leadership meetings we are not part of, and we hear the outcome days later. Sharing the reasoning in the team channel would help us plan.' Skip names, dates and anything only you could know.
How do you give positive feedback to a manager?
Be specific and say what the behavior made possible. Instead of saying you are a great manager, say that blocking out Friday for focus time let you ship the report a day early. Positive feedback is useful to managers because it tells them which habits to keep, and it makes later constructive feedback easier to hear.