Giving difficult feedback can be an act of caring.
I was once struggling in my job, and knew I wasn’t doing my best work. And nobody noticed. I wondered if anybody was even paying attention, or if the standards were so low there that I could get away with doing mediocre work. Either way, it wasn’t a great feeling.
If somebody on your team isn’t producing their top quality work, bring it up with them. I’m not suggesting an accusation like “your work sucks – shape up!”, but something supportive like “Hey, I noticed that your work hasn’t been the quality I know it can be recently. What’s going on? How can I help?”
That person may have been scared to share what’s happening in their life, and it will be a relief to know that somebody noticed and wants to help. It’s better than ignoring the problem and hoping it will magically fix itself.
What’s a time when somebody shared difficult feedback with you in a supportive way?