I praised my team member. Why am I in trouble?

Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column Got a Minute? This week: in trouble with the manager for acknowledging hard work, working within a rigid appraisal system and signing a new contract without being able to read it first.

You shouldn’t be reprimanded for giving a team member positive feedback.Credit: Dionne Gain

I am a mid-level manager and my boss accused me of not being tough enough on someone in my team because I complimented them during their performance review. My staff all work really hard and none of them need to be reprimanded or given negative feedback – I consider myself lucky to work with such professionals. I’m so disgusted with his comment; he is always so negative it’s depressing, and our organisation just accepts this. What do I do?

Your boss sounds like a dinosaur. High-performing teams thrive on feeling trusted, motivated and appreciated. You should never need to defend giving positive feedback where it is due. That said, you always have to make sure you balance positive feedback with areas for development when needed. Many leaders can find giving tough feedback difficult, and while I am not suggesting that is the case here, always keeping things positive can be unhelpful too.

In summary, don’t let your boss’s approach cause you to change your own leadership style. If you are finding your workplace culture stuck in the last century, it may be time to find a new company where you can work alongside others who share your modern leadership approach.

Our company uses a performance rating system where “meets expectations” is the default, even for people who consistently do an exceptional job. “Above expectations” is rarely given, reserved for those going far beyond their role. This leaves high performers feeling deflated and unrecognised. I praise them, but they still ask, “Why only ‘meets’?” Pay and promotion aren’t directly tied to ratings, so why not give more “above” ratings to reflect strong performance and lift morale? The system feels demotivating and out of touch. How can I better support my team or influence change?

If the performance system HR has created is demotivating your best people, there is something seriously wrong with it. In theory, I understand why these kinds of formulaic, box-ticking ideas might be helpful. In practice, however, the unintended consequences can lead to a situation where people quickly work out what is needed to game the system altogether.

Perhaps you and other managers in your position might like to get together and ask for the system to be reviewed. The first question I would be asking is: why do we use this? If it isn’t tied to pay and promotions, what is the real purpose? Once HR gives you that answer (which I assume will be something around guiding areas for individual development), you can explain the impact it is having on your high performers. It seems like this is a system designed to deal with average to underperforming team members, but the real impact is on the people who are doing an impressive job. The system should be designed around retaining them, not simply managing the few who are not doing so well.

I work as a disability support worker, and my employer has said we’ll soon be receiving new employment contracts. They’ve mentioned changes to the sections covering hours of duty and ordinary hours, but claim it won’t affect our roles or standing in the company. They’re also outsourcing HR and want us to sign before we’ve seen the new contracts. I feel uneasy about the lack of transparency, even though they say they’re acting in good faith. If I choose not to sign the new contract, could they be required to offer redundancy?

You are under absolutely no obligation to sign or agree to anything you have not seen. I don’t blame you for feeling uneasy – I would too. If your employer is truly acting in good faith, they would understand the need to explain any changes to you thoroughly before expecting you to agree.

Even the smallest changes in language in your contract can have a big impact. Politely but firmly ask for an explanation of the changes in writing and ask them to clarify how they might impact how much you are paid, and any leave or shift entitlements you have.

Once you get the explanation, consider seeking advice from your union (if you belong to one) or from Fair Work. Be aware you do not need to accept the new contract once you receive it. If the changes are significant, your employer may need to consider making you redundant, but that will depend on many factors so you will need to seek advice.

To submit a question about work, careers or leadership, visit kirstinferguson.com/ask. You will not be asked to provide your name or any identifying information. Letters may be edited.

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