Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet: A Manager’s Guide to Giving Feedback

By Steve King

Giving someone feedback can be a daunting task for a manager— especially when an employee is underperforming. To soften the blow, we sometimes refer to diffi cult feedback as “developmental” or “constructive.” But these phrases rarely prompt the type of productive conversations managers need to have with team members.
Steve King, a longtime HR executive and leader in executive education, cuts to the chase with a simple and trusted framework on providing feedback.
Think of how great it would be to break through the typical awkwardness of giving feedback and start having serious conversations about performance, development, and careers.
Regardless of your role, if you want to give feedback to others on a regular basis, you need a proven approach to improve the quality of your conversations. It starts with four simple words—Brag, Worry,
Wonder, Bet.
This second edition of Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet begins with new introductory remarks from Steve’s colleague and friend Betsy Hagan. Betsy has taught and coached thousands of managers on the effective use of BWWB and her insights help set the stage not only for the rest of the book, but for the effective use of this framework as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781475968750

Steve King

Steve King is the director of executive education at the University of Wisconsin and president of the SDK Group. He formerly was the senior vice president of human resources at Hewitt Associates, and he has worked in leadership roles with Baxter Healthcare, the Bank of Montreal, and Harris Bank in Chicago.

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Copyright © 2013 Steve King.

Second Edition 2024

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-6874-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6875-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013901470

iUniverse rev. date: 03/18/2024

Contents

Introduction by Betsy Hagan

Chapter 1   Why I Wrote This Book

Chapter 2   Why Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet?

Chapter 3   How to Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet

Chapter 4   Why Bragging Is a Good Thing

Chapter 5   Why Sharing Your Worries Is a Good Thing

Chapter 6   Wonder and Curiosity in the Workplace

Chapter 7   Making Bets on Other People

Chapter 8   The Anatomy of Good Feedback: Intention, Framing, and Consistency

Chapter 9   Psychological Safety and Feedback

Chapter 10   Performance Conversations and Performance Management

Chapter 11   Betting On Reaching Your Goals

Chapter 12   Personal Brags, Worries, Wonders, Bets

Chapter 13   Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet as Situation Analysis

Chapter 14   Bragging, Worrying, Wondering, and Betting with a Team or Large Group

Chapter 15   Public Bragging

Chapter 16   Remembering to Brag

Chapter 17   Wondering and Learning

Chapter 18   Bragging, Worrying, Wondering, and Betting in Your Personal Life

Chapter 19   Customizing Your Very Own Brag, Worry, Wonder, Bet

Chapter 20   Example of an Abbreviated Brag-Worry-Wonder-Bet Conversation

To my mom and dad—who made

many bets on me for which I will be forever grateful.

Introduction by Betsy Hagan

For more than 25 years, Steve King and I have collaborated, assisting front-line managers in navigating the challenging realm of leadership within organizations. While our approaches aren’t always exactly the same, we do share a strong conviction in prioritizing conversations over rigid processes in effective people management. This belief stems from a simple truth: while processes are vital for managing performance, it is through conversations that we breathe life into improvement and sustainability. What particularly resonates with me,