When your coworker does great work, tell their manager

There's a small gesture that can make a real difference in a colleague's career: sending a note to their manager praising their work. It sounds simple, yet it's surprisingly easy to skip. A common way this comes up is when someone on another team or in a less visible role does something exceptional—their manager may never see the impact.

The practice is straightforward, but doing it well takes some thought. Here's how to approach it, based on a lot of community input and experience.

Ask first, always

Before you send anything, check with the person. It seems counterintuitive—you're only saying something positive—but there are several ways a compliment can backfire:

  • The compliment may not align with what they're trying to achieve. If they're focused on becoming a deep technical expert, praising their project management skills isn't helpful.
  • You might undersell them. Telling a senior engineer's manager that they did a routine task well sounds condescending.
  • You could highlight work that distracts from their assigned priorities. One person reported getting reprimanded after receiving a peer bonus for helping on another team.
  • Their manager might react poorly, for reasons you can't predict.
  • Some people simply don't want that kind of attention, or are happy with their current level of recognition.

A quick message is all it takes: "Hey, I was really impressed with your work on X and wanted to tell your manager, since she may not have seen the full picture. Is that okay?"

When it matters most: invisible work

Managers can't see everything their reports do. When a great contribution goes unnoticed, it can delay a promotion or a fair performance review. Highlighting work the manager may have missed is the core value of this practice.

Some types of work are particularly prone to going unnoticed:

  • Work done for another department, whose value the home manager may not fully grasp.
  • Help given in private channels, like hours spent helping you debug a problem 1:1.
  • Problem prevention, which is intrinsically less visible than firefighting.
  • Work by people from underrepresented groups, whose contributions may be unfairly overlooked.
  • Documentation, code review, and other essential but less flashy tasks.
  • Remote work, if your company's culture overlooks it.
  • Roles that are chronically underrecognized, like support positions.

It's also always worth highlighting strong work by junior coworkers—they need the visibility most.

Why it works: building the promotion case

Promotions require evidence. A manager can't build a case for a raise or a title change without concrete examples of valuable work. Having statements from coworkers, not just self-assessments, adds significant credibility.

This is especially valuable when you know someone is being considered for promotion soon. Your note can help them get recognized on time, rather than a year later.

How to write the note

Be specific. Instead of "Julia did a great job," say: "Julia designed this system and we've had no major operational issues in the six months since launch, which is unusual for a project of this scale."

Also, emphasize when someone is exceeding expectations for their current level. If an engineer who isn't yet senior is doing senior-level work, say exactly that. That's the signal a manager can act on.

Send the message to the person themselves, too. It's nice for them to hear directly, and they may not see it if you're using a formal feedback system.

Public praise and other formal channels

Recognizing someone in a public Slack channel or team meeting can also build their credibility and lets them be part of the conversation. Not everyone wants public recognition, so check first.

At some companies, a peer bonus is the better vehicle—it's a formal, official endorsement. Use whatever recognition system exists where you work, from email to a peer bonus to a shoutout in a standup.

Anyone can do this

You don't need seniority to advocate for a coworker. Even if you're new and don't feel qualified to judge someone's technical skill, you can tell their manager: "This person helped me navigate a project that was way outside my comfort zone."

It's also worth asking yourself who you're advocating for. It's natural to promote the work of your friends, but make an effort to notice and champion colleagues who aren't in your inner circle—especially those whose successes are easy to miss.