Presentation: The Art of Giving Feedback: Valuing People, Getting Results
Abstract: Feedback is one of the most powerful tools a project manager can use, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. Whether you’re managing clients, leading a project team, or working solo across departments, a steady flow of feedback is essential to keeping both people and projects moving forward. Too often, feedback is treated as a “tough conversation” instead of a necessary one, which can lead to miscommunication, mistrust, and missed opportunities. This session reframes feedback as an act of value and empowerment, a way to strengthen trust, enhance collaboration, and drive results. Participants will gain practical tools to redefine feedback as a connection rather than correction, explore how directness can be delivered with care, and learn to root feedback in a person’s values instead of softening it with surface-level compliments. Grounded in Stephen M.R. Covey’s concept of Emotional Bank Accounts, this session helps project managers at every level understand how intentional, value-centered feedback can deposit into trust while still addressing challenges. Participants will leave equipped to give feedback that empowers growth, strengthens relationships, and creates environments where accountability and appreciation can thrive side by side.
Key Takeaways:
- Redefine feedback from “tough” to necessary—an opportunity to connect, not correct.
- Learn how to give feedback that deposits into trust and strengthens relationships.
- Understand how to root feedback in value to empower others and help them find their voice.
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills
Biography: Briana McManus lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she currently works at Louisiana State University and believes that a good taco can make any day better. A proud North Carolinian, she earned her degrees from Western Carolina University and the University of South Carolina. Since beginning her career in student affairs in 2020, Briana has developed a deep passion for helping others discover their leadership potential beyond titles and positions. After taking a necessary break from the field following the loss of a student, she discovered project management — a space where her love for organization, communication, and people-centered leadership found new life. She continues to work as a freelance project manager, bringing the same intentionality and care to her client work that she does to her campus role. Known for her engaging facilitation style and her belief that anything Lin-Manuel Miranda touches is genius, Briana brings both heart and humor to every space she’s in. She believes we are all more capable than we imagine, and that sometimes, leadership simply begins with someone helping us shift our paradigm and see the world a little differently.
