When it comes to management, few tasks are more dreaded than delivering negative feedback.
Yet feedback, especially the tough kind, is essential. When done well, it helps employees grow, strengthens teams, and builds managerial confidence. In theory, it’s a win-win. In practice? Not so much.
To soften the sting, many leaders have turned to a decades-old tactic: the compliment sandwich. Also known as the feedback or criticism sandwich, it layers a piece of negative feedback between two positive (and often unrelated) comments:
Bread (Compliment): “Roger, your input at the client meeting was invaluable.”
Meat (Feedback): “You’ve been showing up late and leaving early – it’s impacting your deliverables.”
Bread (Compliment): “But that last report you created? Excellent work.”
The method, popularized in the 1980s, was meant to ease discomfort on both sides. But does it actually work?
According to Karen MacMillan, Ivey Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour, that sandwich has gone stale.
“It was once the gold standard,” she said. “But the research is clear – layering compliments doesn’t make tough feedback any easier to swallow.”
The antidote? Less bread, more candour.
Honesty over harmony
To uncover what makes feedback truly effective, MacMillan and her Ivey research partners, Associate Professor, Fernando Olivera and Lecturer, Cameron McAlpine, along with IESEG School of Management’s Gouri Mohan are digging into the role of candour – honest, open communication – in the workplace.
And early findings suggest it works – but only when it’s done right.
“When practiced with kindness, candour has wide-reaching benefits,” MacMillan said.
Delivered with care and confidence, direct feedback doesn’t just help employees grow, it can strengthen relationships and build trust.
And that’s exactly where the compliment sandwich crumbles. Instead of offering clarity, it creates confusion. Most employees know the positive feedback is just a buffer, so the compliments feel like empty appetizers before the inevitable “but.”
“They’re waiting for the other shoe to drop,” MacMillan explained. “Regularly starting with a compliment to ease into a critique quickly teaches people to be on high alert. They end up ignoring the positive and resenting the negative.”
The new recipe for feedback
If you’ve been loyal to the compliment sandwich, you might be wondering: What now? The good news is better feedback doesn’t require more awkwardness – just more intention.
To help managers move beyond the bread and into meaningful conversations, MacMillan offers a simple roadmap:
1. Start with a plan
Many feedback misfires happen because managers don’t prepare. Take a few minutes beforehand to ask:
- Why am I giving this feedback? What’s my goal? Am I doing this for the right reasons?
- Do I have specific examples to back it up?
- Can I point to the impact their behaviour is having?
- What’s my opening line?
“That first sentence sets the tone,” said MacMillan. “It can make or break the conversation. If you start off wrong, the person gets defensive and then they don’t hear anything you say.”
2. Make it a dialogue
Avoid having a monologue. If you are doing all the talking, that means they are probably not buying in.
Be ready to ask questions. Ask: “How do you think things are going?” or “Am I seeing things the same way you are?”
Create space for the person to share their perspective. You have one view of the world, but you may be missing something important.
And if the conversation starts to veer off track, it’s perfectly okay to pause, redirect, or even reschedule.
3. Show you care about them as a person
Let the employee know you’re in their corner by connecting your feedback to something they care about.
For example:
“I know you want to move up in the company. I’ve noticed something that might be getting in the way. Do you want to hear it?”
That simple ask gives the employee agency, which is a powerful shift from old-school, top-down approaches.
4. End with an agreement
Every conversation should end with clarity. What’s the plan? When will you follow up? Even a simple, “Let’s reflect and reconnect next week,” keeps the momentum going.
5. Treat feedback as a process
Most times, one conversation won’t change everything. Real feedback happens over time, with follow-up, reinforcement, and trust.
While these steps can make feedback more effective, MacMillan is quick to acknowledge that candour takes courage. Honest conversations rarely feel easy at first, but with practice, they become more natural, more impactful, and more rewarding for everyone involved.
“The real measure of feedback isn’t how well it’s delivered, it’s whether it creates change and strengthens relationships,” said MacMillan.
This new approach may not come with a catchy name. But over time, it can become something far more valuable: a trusted staple in how your team grows, communicates, and thrives.
Karen MacMillan is an Assistant Professor at Ivey Business School, where she teaches courses in Organizational Behaviour in the School’s HBA and Executive Education programs. One of Ivey’s first Teacher Scholars, she focuses on both research and making learning engaging and effective. A number of her cases have reached best-seller status, used by educators and tens of thousands of students across the globe.
