Were you specific about feedback or expectations? Did you ask what they needed from you? If the answer to any of these is no, that's your starting point. Schedule a 15-minute conversation with that person this week. Use the structure I mentioned. Start with their agenda. Move to your agenda. End with next steps. Notice how different this feels from your usual interactions. Notice what you learn about their priorities, their challenges, their perspective on the work. Track this for four weeks. After each conversation, write down one thing you learned and one thing you committed to do. Watch how your relationship changes, how their performance changes, how their engagement changes.

When you're giving difficult feedback, use the situation behavior impact framework. Describe the specific situation, the specific behavior you observed, and the specific impact it had. Then work together to create a plan for improvement. This keeps the conversation factual instead of emotional, specific instead of vague. When you're delegating work, use the context outcome timeline framework. Give them the context for why this work matters, be specific about the outcome you're looking for, and be clear about the timeline. Then ask what questions they have, what support they need, and what could go wrong. When you're having career-developing conversations, use the past, present, future framework.