Feedback is the key to growth, no matter what level you’re at in your career. It helps you grow, highlights areas of improvement and gives you direction about what competencies to focus on moving forward. However, many people are resistant to feedback. It can feel like a confrontation or criticism when delivered incorrectly and leave people with a negative impression.

As a leader, it’s your job to provide feedback to your employees. You have to know how to effectively communicate with your team and guide them to the next level in their career. This requires tact and emotional intelligence. In this article, we’ll look at why feedback is so important and how you can give better feedback to your team members.

The Importance of Feedback in Leadership Development

Providing constructive feedback is a core leadership skill. It shows that you care about your team and creates a positive employee experience in a number of different ways:

• Expands your team members’ self-awareness which helps them better problem solve and correct mistakes on their own.

• Increases employee engagement because they know you’re working to help them improve and that you’ll follow up on their progress.

• Creates a more accountable work environment because employees are clear on what roles they own and how their co-workers can help them.

• Generates interest in professional leadership development and carving out a path to success within your organization.

The secret to realizing all of these benefits is to have meetings (in-person, if possible) on a regular basis. Create a weekly or monthly schedule with each employee so you can do an informal performance review and offer meaningful feedback. This will give you the chance to help your team members establish career goals, track their progress and course correct if they start moving in the wrong direction.

The more you incorporate regular, honest feedback into your management style, the more you’ll get from your team. You’ll notice self-correcting during projects, rising levels of engagement and an overall more collaborative and productive team. 

It’s also critical to remember that, as a leader, you should also be seeking out feedback from your leadership and direct reports alike. When it comes to leadership positions, you’ve never fully arrived. Seek out feedback from your team and senior executives so you can find areas of growth in your leadership style and work to make adjustments.

What Makes Feedback Effective?

When giving an employee feedback, it’s important to incorporate four techniques to ensure your suggestions are well-received. 

1.) Build trust and create a coaching culture. 

Most team members will naturally be a little nervous when you offer suggestions. They might brace themselves for negative feedback or feel worried about their job. To alleviate these feelings, it’s critical to create a trusting environment. 

A team member needs to be willing to accept your feedback and implement it into their work. This requires peace of mind that comes from a trusting relationship. Good leaders should take the time to build a relationship with their team members first, so that when you do offer advice, your team is able to listen to and utilize it.

In addition to forging these relationships, you need to create a feedback-friendly environment in the workplace. Teams should know that your organization values honesty and growth and feedback is the leadership’s way of helping employees achieve more. With this culture established, team members will know that welcoming feedback is part of their professional development and are often more receptive to it.

2.) Be direct. 

You’re probably familiar with the “compliment sandwich.” It’s when managers include positive feedback on either side of constructive criticism to try to soften the blow. It’s a popular technique but it’s not actually helpful when providing feedback to employees.

Including a mix of compliments and criticisms when giving feedback can make your message confusing. Your main point often gets lost in translation and employees leave your office not knowing if they did well or poorly. That’s why it’s better to be direct when offering your suggestions.

First, communicate all of your feedback to your employee. Don’t think of it as positive or negative advice; it’s all simply suggestions for improvement. Allow your team members to consider your suggestions and ask questions, if they have any. Next, offer your advice for how to improve and get their input. You can ask:

• What are some ways you can practice this skill in your daily work?

• Is this competency something you want to develop?

• What are some things you would like to work on in your professional development?

Remember that being direct doesn’t mean you can’t praise your team. Celebrate their wins and show them their value whenever you can to help them stay motivated, engaged and confident.

3.) Be consistent. 

The best leaders are consistent leaders. Your team should feel confident in your leadership style and know that you will handle situations with the same level of calm and strategic thinking every time. This extends to your feedback habit. 

Create a repeatable approach to providing feedback that includes some objective observations. If you can show your employees how their actions affect the company, both good and bad, it will help them to understand why they need to improve on certain things or start aiming a little higher.  

As you do this regularly, your team will start anticipating your questions and working hard to meet the goals you establish with them. It encourages them to monitor their own growth and progress because they know they’ll have to check in with you about action items and ongoing development. 

4.) Be an Example. 

As we mentioned before, receiving feedback is just as important as providing it. To be a successful leader, you need to set an example for your team about how to receive and act on feedback. There is always room for improvement, no matter what your position is.

Encourage your team to give you feedback as well. This might be in team meetings, weekly one-on-ones or just by establishing an open-door policy. When they come to you with concerns or feedback, be sure to listen carefully and open a dialogue with them. Show that you care about their feelings and are willing to make any necessary changes.

This sets a powerful tone in the workplace and goes a long way to helping you establish a coaching culture.

Guide Your Team to Greater Heights

Feedback is a core competency at any level of leadership. It’s how you coach your team members to success and help them develop professional skills to reach their goals. Keep these four tips in mind as you work with your team to improve their performance and confidence in their roles.

Ready to learn more about feedback and leadership? Check out our podcast about giving and receiving effective feedback.