Podcast Summary

Podcast: Manager Tools
Episode: Three Current Modern Management Scams - Part 2
Date: March 9, 2026
Hosts: Sarah & Mark

Overview

This episode is Part 2 of “Three Current Modern Management Scams.” Hosts Sarah and Mark dive deeper into the problematic management advice trending today, providing their data-driven perspective. They critically evaluate the value and implementation of engagement surveys and the growing trend of treating feedback conversations as lengthy dialogues. As usual, the episode is packed with practical insights and lived experience, delivered in the frank, no-nonsense tone for which Manager Tools is known.

Main Theme:
A skeptical, evidence-based debunking of two prevalent management practices: engagement surveys and “feedback dialogue/conversation” as a replacement for effective feedback. The hosts illustrate how both act as “scams” by offering little real help to managers while draining time and energy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Flaws of Engagement Surveys

[00:33–11:54]

• Engagement Surveys Don’t Measure Engagement

  • Surveys often infer engagement from workplace experience questions, not direct measurement.
  • Each survey uses proprietary questions, preventing real comparability.

  “How do we know that employees who say they're engaged actually are engaged? …We don't. In many cases, the engagement industry surveys no longer ask how engaged the employee is.” (Sarah, 00:33)

• Performance Blindness & Anonymity

  • Surveys are anonymous, so managers don’t know if high or low scorers are top performers or underperformers.

  “You don't get to know whether your best employees feel engaged or your worst ones do or don't… It's an assumption, it's not data.” (Mark, 02:03)

• Small Teams & Disproportionate Impact

  • One disengaged low performer in a small team can disproportionately drag down the score, regardless of other strong performance.

  “If you have four employees, one very disgruntled employee... their survey results count for 25% of your engagement score.” (Sarah, 02:46)

• Timing & External Events Skew Results

  • Survey results are tied to singular points in time, easily skewed by external happenings (e.g., a last-minute project cancellation).

  “If your team last week found out the project they're on has been canceled... now that engagement survey says your team has low engagement, and so therefore that's a problem.” (Mark, 03:36)

• Little Support for High Scores, Punishment for Low Scores

  • High-scoring managers rarely receive praise or support to share their practices; low scorers are more likely to be penalized.
  • No consistent action plan or support for managers to actually improve engagement based on survey outcomes.

  “In the hundreds of instances where managers...have told us of their experience, only one told us that because she had received high engagement scores from her team, she was lauded for her efforts…” (Sarah, 04:25) “I've never heard of a company that says based on these scores, here are some things we're going to help you with to help drive the engagement surveys.” (Mark, 05:08)

• Organizational Focus, Not Individual Management

  • Surveys are designed to assess overall organizational engagement and find “problem” managers, not to disseminate or encourage effective practices.

• Manager Tools’ Stance

  • They do not recommend engagement surveys or provide implementation guidance, except under duress when their audience “must” engage in these company-mandated processes.
  • If you must take action, get as much detail as possible from the results, share results transparently with your team, and use a concrete action plan (Manager Tools offers exhaustive guides for compelled participants).

  “We have a general rule here that we do not tell people how to do things we don't recommend they do.” (Mark, 09:34)

2. The “Feedback Dialogue” Scam

[12:00–28:24]

• Definition & Popularity

  • The trend: turning every feedback moment into a lengthy, searching “dialogue” or “conversation,” especially around mistakes.
  • Common problem: attempting to probe deeply into the direct’s thought-process to find and fix root causes.

• Why It’s Ineffective

  • Feedback Must Be Frequent and Brief:
    Manager Tools’ data shows that effective feedback—positive or negative—needs to be short and delivered frequently.

    “No one has time for that. And in order for you to have time for feedback…feedback must be brief for no other reason than it should be frequent.” (Sarah, 19:22)

  • The Real Purpose of Feedback:
    The real aim is to foster better performance in the future, not to analyze or berate about what happened in the past.

    “The purpose of all feedback, both positive and negative... is to encourage future positive behavior. The purpose of feedback is in the future, not in understanding the past.” (Mark, 27:05)

  • False Focus on Root Cause Analysis:
    Root cause analysis works for complex, technical failures—but is burdensome and unnecessary for everyday feedback.

    “We don't want to take ideas from root cause analysis… and try to apply that to the daily, regular, frequent feedback that directs need.” (Mark, 13:43)

  • Only Applies to Negative Feedback, Not Positive:
    The proponents of “dialogue” only advocate such lengthy conversations when things go wrong.

    “They're only talking about negative feedback. Because they literally don't understand that feedback is both positive and negative.” (Mark, 15:21)

  • NFL Coaching Example:
    Illustrates the importance of positive feedback and the proper ratio of criticism to praise. When NFL teams focused only on negatives in post-game film review, players became disengaged; shifting to more positive reinforcement improved performance.

    “The teams loved it, but the players hated it. And it's because the coaches decided that they would show the negatives…And they changed it and said, no, we're going to focus on the posits.” (Mark, 16:40)

  • Time Constraints & Consistency:
    If you claim not to have time for weekly one-on-ones, you can’t rationally justify lengthy 20-minute “feedback conversations” every time there’s an issue.

  • The Manager Tools Feedback Model in Action (Roleplay):
    Example of quick, effective negative feedback:

    “Hey Sarah, can I give you some feedback?”
    “Sure.”
    “When you missed that deadline, it slowed me down getting the stuff to my boss. Can you do that better next time?”
    “Yes, absolutely.”
    (Roleplay, 21:40–21:45)

  • Danger in Revisiting Intents:
    Digging into the “why” behind errors often validates and reinforces the intent, even if it led to a bad result—contradicting principles from psychology.

    "You're actually not responsible for your direct's intent or their motivation or their personality... You're responsible for the outcome of their work." (Mark, 23:15)

  • Better Alternative:
    Focus feedback on future expectations and solutions, not past mistakes or intentions.

    “The more you make positive and negative feedback different. The more you make them into something that they're not. All without being effective.” (Sarah, 28:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Surveys:

  “We could keep layering on all of these reasons that we disagree with engagement... only one [manager] told us that because she had received high engagement scores from her team, she was lauded for her efforts…” (Sarah, 04:25)

• On Predominance of Organizational over Individual Focus:

  "Engagement surveys are not meant to help individual managers. They're meant to assess the organization's overall engagement, find those managers whose scores are low and put them on notice. But management doesn't happen as a group." (Mark, 06:30)

• On Manager Tools’ Reluctance to Support Harmful Practices:

  "We do not tell people how to do things we don't recommend they do... I'm not going to make you more efficient at a bad thing." (Mark, 09:34)

• On the Wastefulness of Feedback Dialogues:

  “You, you have time though, to have all of these 20 minute conversations with everybody every time they require feedback? No, you don't have time for that. No one has time for that.” (Sarah, 19:22)

• On the Real Purpose of Feedback:

  “The point of any action, any interaction with the direct about their performance must be the future, because that is the only thing we can do anything about. We can do nothing about the past, only about the future.” (Mark, 27:12)

• Throwaway But Insightful:

  “You want your organization to be the NFL folks. You don't want your organization to be track day at school.” (Sarah, 19:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:33] – Engagement surveys: what they do (and don’t) measure
• [02:03] – Surveys are anonymous; no linkage to performance
• [02:46] – Small teams: one bad apple distorts results
• [03:36] – Outside events skew reported engagement
• [04:25] – Manager Tools community feedback: high scores unrewarded
• [06:30] – Engagement surveys punish, never reward individual managers
• [09:34] – Manager Tools’ refusal to promote unhelpful practices
• [12:00] – Scam #3 introduction: feedback dialogue/conversation
• [13:43] – Why “swimming upstream” on intent is misguided
• [15:21] – Feedback dialogue focuses only on negative feedback
• [16:40] – NFL case study: feedback balance
• [21:40] – Mark/Sarah roleplay: feedback model in 15 seconds
• [23:15] – The peril of focusing on intent, not outcome
• [27:05] – Purpose of feedback: it’s about the future, not the past
• [28:13] – The negative impact of making feedback experiences unequal

Conclusion: Manager Tools’ Core Guidance

[29:10–30:28]

• The world of management is rife with popular but deeply ineffective advice. Manager Tools bases its guidance on extensive, global observation and real-world outcomes.
• Engagement surveys and elaborate feedback dialogues are currently “in,” but they suck time and value from managers while failing to improve teams.
• Stick to the tools and advice that actually work: regular, brief, action-focused interactions—especially one-on-ones and concise feedback.

“Be careful about following guidance that is touted as popular because it probably had a dark beginning or it was simply sold from one person to another. The fact is…stick to manager tools guidance.” (Mark, 30:11)

Actionable Takeaways

• Treat engagement survey results with skepticism; don’t let them define your management approach or perception of success.
• Don’t get lured into the “feedback as therapy session” scam—use concise, frequent feedback, oriented towards future improvement.
• Prioritize positive feedback even over negative; brief, timely praise is more powerful than lengthy, rare conversations.
• Share lessons and actions with your team promptly and transparently.

Mentioned Manager Tools Episodes

• “Assume Positive Intent”
• “You Are Not a Psychologist”
• “The Single Best Feedback Organization” (NFL-focused episode)
• Extensive multi-part guides on dealing with engagement surveys

This episode is a resourceful, energizing refute of some of the most pervasive time-wasters in management. The clear message: focus on real relationships, genuine communication, and practical, repeatable processes. Ignore the hype—stick to what works.