Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times;
Interview with Enrique Salem, president and C.E.O. of Symantec, the computer security company; Want to Lead? Ask Tennyson and Shakespeare:
"Q. And does that include difficult conversations with people about their performance?
A. Absolutely. It was harder for me to talk to somebody about, “Here’s where I need you to improve.” It didn’t make it easier to be worried about their reaction. Now I feel more comfortable with that, and I think it’s just a matter of experience.
If you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to be able to deliver the tough message. And I find that a lot of managers will not deliver those messages and then people are surprised. If you get asked to be a manager, you have to manage. And managing means sometimes you’ve got to deliver a tough message. But you’ve got to give the feedback in a way that has a constructive tone."
