Direct report does fine when told exactly what to do, but pushes back hard on any feedback. How do you handle this?
I manage a small team and one of my reports is okay at execution when he’s told exactly what to do. He gets things done, doesn’t need much hand-holding on routine tasks as long as the instructions are clear. But he really struggles with anything that requires creative thinking or problem-solving on his own; he needs a lot of direction and doesn’t come up with ideas himself. And the second I try to give him any feedback on this, even small, constructive stuff, he gets defensive and pushes back instead of just hearing it out.
It’s starting to become a pattern. He doesn’t take learnings well, and it feels like he has some level of ego problem when discussing about his errors/providing feedback, even though the gaps are pretty obvious.
Meanwhile I’ve got a decision to make soon about restructuring. I could either give him more responsibility and bring someone else in under him, or bring in someone new above him to manage him directly. Part of me worries that if I don’t promote him he might see it as a slight and leave. But part of me also worries that promoting someone who can’t think independently or take feedback now is just going to make things worse once he has more authority and less oversight.
Anyone dealt with this before? How do you get someone coachable when they’re closed off to feedback, and how do you weigh “does fine with clear instructions but weak on independent thinking” against losing them if you don’t move them up?