If someone doesn’t have the cojones to give their subordinates honest feedback, they’re already in “in trouble” — or, at least, in over their head — and simply don’t belong in management.

Don’t be a sexist piece of shit.

My sister says she doesn’t evaluate or communicate with women at work differently. However she’s in a technical realm and says “We live in a man’s world. We [women] are used to the communication styles as we are the minority and adapt to the majority.”

Sorry, intended as a reply to jdgalt

But providing honest feedback to those women is going to look like sexism too, and maybe get the reviewer in trouble, at least if he is male.

Writing, a field where critique is not only helpful but necessary, is a good example. Several years ago, while looking for a writing group in my old city, I found one that emphasized positive reviews ONLY. They claimed it was because they didn’t want to discourage anybody. Well, a writer who can’t take feedback might as well just go do something else. I avoided that group because I knew I would learn nothing from it, and neither would anyone else.