is it possible for a boss to provide too much feedback?

[L Foster]

Awesome to have Ken Kousen on the forum.  I have seen him and heard about "Kousen IT" a few times.  That's witty.

I am curious: is it possible for a boss to provide too much feedback?

Thank you

[Kenneth A. Kousen]

A couple of things:

1. You might want to ask that question in the Jobs Discussion forum but in any topic other than this one, as this topic is ineligible for the drawing for free books. The number of question is still really low, so you have a good chance of winning one.

2. Thanks for appreciating the Kousen IT gag. I still say "Eye-Tee", but my wife pronounces it like I'm a member of the Addams Family.

Ken

[Campbell Ritchie]

You had better keep quiet about that; your wife doubtless knows whether you should sign up with the Addams Family

[Kenneth A. Kousen]

Can a boss provide too much feedback? Sure, especially if they are being a micromanager. The issue is whether you want them to stop or not. To do so, you have to push back, and I talk in a lot of detail about how to do that in a way that does not threaten the loyalty relationship.

Here are a couple of Medium posts about it:

When Your Boss Is A Micromanager
https://medium.com/pragmatic-programmers/micromanagers-ken-kousen-93c1a97f29d7

and

Pushing Back: Lessons from the Prisoner's Dilemma
https://medium.com/pragmatic-programmers/pushing-back-lessons-from-the-prisoners-dilemma-451b948c6f1d

(I'm publishing posts on Medium so I can be part of the Pragmatic Programmer's publication there.)

So it really depends on whether the feedback is welcome or not.