Wall Street Journal offers Avoiding Conflicts, The Too-Nice Boss Makes Matters Worse…you can see where this is going.
“In a knowledge economy, where work is more complex and interdependent, people need feedback more — what they particularly need feedback on are on things that are difficult to give: one’s interpersonal style,” says David Bradford, a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
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Bosses who want to avoid any discomfort, “use generalities so people really don’t know what they’re talking about,” says Laura Collins, an HR consultant. Instead, they tend toward one-size-fits-all comments: “pay a little more attention to detail” and “improve the way you communicate” and “develop better organization skills.”
These are real problems today in our non-confrontational society. I subscribe more to the theory that if you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs.
There is a specific communication style that is highly susceptible to this approach – the High S. They almost fear confrontation to the point where they will use generalities instead of simply being candid and honest. To be an effective manager, you have to provide both positive and negative feedback lest bad habits develop.