Using Meaningful Feedback to Effect Change

Regular, balanced feedback fosters trust and openness in your team

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Feedback is the cornerstone of any successful team dynamic. The ability to deliver feedback effectively can be the difference between a team that stagnates or deteriorates and one that thrives. Feedback, when done right, fosters growth, improves performance, and builds trust. Employees are hungry for performance feedback from their leaders because they want to do a good job.

Personally, if I don't hear from my boss for a couple weeks, I start to get a bit anxious and wonder how I'm doing. I'm not insecure about my ability to deliver results, but it's still nice to hear once in a while that I'm doing a good job. And if I've dropped the ball on something, it's important that they tell me so I can figure out how to get back on track. It's the suspense of not knowing how I'm doing that's stressful. Giving your team regular feedback can spare them that stress.

This post will explore how to deliver feedback in a way that strengthens your team, using principles that ensure it is meaningful, frequent, and effective.

The Hunger for Feedback

Understanding the need for feedback is the first step in harnessing its power. Employees crave insights that will help them grow and develop in their roles. This hunger for feedback is not just about wanting praise; it’s about seeking constructive criticism that can lead to improvement. A good employee always want to know how they can do better. Feedback is a form of communication that, when done right, addresses this desire for growth.

Meaningful feedback should provide clear and actionable insights that employees can use to improve their performance. It’s not enough to say, “Good job” or “You need to do better.” Effective feedback details:

1. What was done well

2. What needs improvement, and

3. How to achieve that improvement.

This specificity helps employees understand exactly what is expected of them and how they can meet those expectations.

For instance, rather than telling an employee, “Your presentation was good,” you could say, “Your presentation was engaging and well-structured, but it would be even more effective if you included more data to support your key points.” This type of feedback is constructive and provides a clear path for improvement, feeding the employee’s desire for actionable insights.

The Fuel of Performance

When feedback is delivered effectively, it acts as a catalyst for growth and improvement. It helps employees understand their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to build on what they do well and address areas where they need development.

Throughout my career it's been my experience that most leaders only give feedback when they need an employee to improve in some way. The vast majority of feedback I've received from my bosses has been of this variety and, I'm embarrassed to admit, for a long time this was 90% of the feedback I gave my own team.

To fuel performance, feedback must be balanced. Positive feedback is essential for reinforcing good behaviors and boosting morale, while constructive feedback is necessary for addressing areas of improvement. An effective leader knows how to balance these two types of feedback to create a supportive yet challenging environment.

Whether positive recognition or constructive instruction, all feedback should be specific, timely, and relevant. Vague or outdated feedback can be confusing and demotivating. For example, telling an employee, “You need to improve your communication skills,” without providing specific examples or suggestions for improvement, is not helpful. Instead, providing detailed examples and practical advice makes the feedback more meaningful and actionable.

Timeliness is also critical. Feedback should be given as close to the event as possible, while the details are still fresh in everyone’s mind. This immediacy ensures that the feedback is relevant and can be applied to future tasks or projects. The worst boss I've ever had was absolutely terrible in this regard. He'd save all his feedback for me until our quarterly 1:1 meeting, then dump 3 months of stored-up criticism on me at once. Things I could have corrected if he'd had a 3 minute conversation with me in July, he instead allowed to continue and compound until September. Which brings me to the next point.

The Importance of Frequency

Effective feedback is frequent. Providing feedback should be a part of your regular routine. Regularly occurring feedback is essential in building and maintaining a high-performing team. Feedback should not be reserved for annual performance reviews, scheduled 1:1 meetings, or special occasions. Instead, it should be an ongoing process that happens frequently and naturally as part of everyday interactions.

Effective feedback has an expiration date.

Frequent feedback helps to create a culture of continuous improvement. It keeps employees engaged and motivated by providing them with regular insights into their performance. This constant flow of feedback allows for real-time adjustments and course corrections, preventing small issues from becoming major problems.

In addition, regular feedback helps to build trust between leaders and their team members. As I mentioned before, most people only received feedback from their boss when they've done something wrong. This creates an environment where people begin to resent their boss and reflexively become defensive in their interactions, stifling the possibility of lasting improvement.

When employees know that they will receive consistent and fair feedback, and that positives and successes will be recognized along with the misses, they are more likely to trust their leaders and feel supported in their roles. This trust is crucial for creating an open and honest work environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns.

To implement frequent feedback, leaders should make it a habit to provide feedback in the moment. This can be as simple as giving a quick comment after a meeting or sending a follow-up email with detailed observations. Regular check-ins and one-on-one meetings are also effective ways to ensure that feedback is given consistently.

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Providing Regular Feedback to Large Teams

With very large teams it can be difficult to ensure everyone is receiving feedback on a regular basis. One solution is to create a schedule of some sort to ensure you are checking in regularly with each team member. This does not have to be complicated.

Personally, I have an excel file that lists each of my team members. Each day I check in with 10% of them and try to find something they're doing well that I can offer positive recognition for. I then move their name to the bottom of the list. My team fluctuates in size over the course of the year, but this usually means providing feedback to 12-15 people a day.

If I have a team member that's struggling with something and I need to give constructive criticism instead, I make a note next to their name detailing what feedback I gave them. Instead of moving them to the bottom of the list, I only move them down about 1/4 of the way, ensuring their name comes up again in 2-3 days. Then I'm able to check on them and see how they've done at implementing my previous feedback. If they're doing better I acknowledge the improvement they've made. If not, I repeat the process.

This system helps me ensure that:

1. Each member of my team receives feedback from me at least twice a month (they also receive feedback from their direct managers at least 1x weekly)

2. Everyone receives positive feedback, not just negative

Of course, if I happen to be walking by and notice someone doing a good job, I'll thank them right there. The schedule helps ensure everyone receives feedback twice a month at least. But more is always better, especially when it comes to recognizing good performance.

Building a Feedback Culture

Creating a culture of feedback within a team requires commitment and effort from both leaders and team members. Leaders must lead by example, demonstrating the importance of feedback through their actions and attitudes. This means not only giving feedback but also actively seeking it from team members.

Encouraging peer-to-peer feedback is another important aspect of building a feedback culture. When team members feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback from each other, it creates a more dynamic and collaborative work environment. Peer feedback can provide valuable insights that leaders may not see and can help to strengthen relationships within the team.

Training and development programs can also support a feedback culture by providing leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to give and receive feedback effectively. These programs can cover topics such as active listening, constructive criticism, and the importance of empathy in feedback conversations.

Overcoming Challenges

While the benefits of meaningful feedback are clear, delivering it effectively can be challenging. Leaders may fear that their feedback will be poorly received or that it will harm their relationship with team members. To overcome these challenges, it is important to approach feedback with empathy and a genuine desire to help the recipient improve.

A frequently-mentioned strategy is to use the “sandwich” method, where constructive feedback is “sandwiched” between positive comments. The idea is that this approach helps to soften the impact of the constructive feedback and makes it more palatable for the recipient. You may find this works for you. Personally, I do not subscribe to the theory behind this approach and generally discourage my direct reports from using it as well.

I believe (based solely on personal experience - if you have research-backed evidence that this is wrong, please send it to me) that the "sandwich" method of delivering unpleasant feedback leaves too much potential for confusion. If you begin your feedback with a positive and end with a positive, it can be unclear to some people that the item in the middle was not also a positive. This is particularly common for people that come from outside the mainstream American culture, where this "sandwich" format is not customary as it is here.

Instead, I advocate for being clear, direct, and focusing the conversation on a single topic. When you must give performance improvement feedback, it should not be ambiguous to the recipient. They can't change and improve if they don't understand exactly what you're asking of them. This does not mean your delivery should be brutal or that it should be dispassionate and robotic. Have some empathy. Don't be a jerk, but also don't sugarcoat or downplay it.

As long as you're also providing positive feedback on a regular basis, the vast majority of people can handle a call to improve pretty well. The problems arise (and this is what creates the need for the sandwich method of softening the blow) when your only interactions with a team member revolve around these performance improvement conversations. But you shouldn't have anything to worry about as long as:

• You put in the work to build a good relationship with them beforehand

• They know that you recognize their successes too, not just their shortcomings

• You approach the conversation with a sincere desire to help them improve, and explicitly express that desire to them.

Another challenge is ensuring that feedback is objective and unbiased. Leaders must be aware of their own biases and strive to provide feedback based on observable behaviors and facts rather than personal opinions or assumptions. This objectivity helps to ensure that feedback is fair and credible.

Finally, leaders must be prepared to listen and respond to feedback from their team members. Feedback should be a two-way street, and leaders who are open to receiving feedback from their team are more likely to build trust and respect.

Summary

Meaningful feedback is a powerful tool for strengthening your team. By providing specific, actionable, and timely feedback, leaders can help their team members grow and improve. Frequent feedback fosters a culture of continuous improvement and builds trust within the team. While delivering feedback can be challenging, approaching it with empathy and a genuine desire to help can overcome these challenges. In the end, meaningful feedback is not just about improving performance; it is about building stronger, more resilient teams.

From Theory to Practice

Here are ten pieces of actionable advice managers can implement to strengthen their team:

1. Provide Clear and Actionable Feedback: Ensure your feedback includes what was done well, what needs improvement, and how to achieve that improvement. Specificity helps employees understand exactly what is expected of them.

2. Balance Positive and Constructive Feedback: Reinforce good behaviors with positive feedback and address areas for improvement with constructive feedback to create a supportive yet challenging environment.

3. Give Timely Feedback: Provide feedback as close to the event as possible to ensure it is relevant and can be applied to future tasks or projects, preventing issues from compounding over time.

4. Integrate Feedback into Daily Routine: Make feedback a regular part of your interactions, not just during formal reviews or meetings. This helps create a culture of continuous improvement.

5. Create a Feedback Schedule: For large teams, use a schedule to ensure everyone receives regular feedback. This ensures no one is overlooked and feedback is consistent.

6. Build a Feedback Culture: Lead by example by giving and seeking feedback regularly. Encourage peer-to-peer feedback to foster a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

7. Be Clear and Direct: Avoid the “sandwich” method and instead focus on delivering clear and direct feedback. This helps avoid confusion and ensures the message is understood.

8. Be Empathetic in Feedback Delivery: Approach feedback conversations with empathy and a genuine desire to help the recipient improve. This builds trust and makes the feedback more effective.

9. Recognize Successes Frequently: Don’t just focus on areas for improvement. Regularly acknowledge and celebrate successes to boost morale and motivation.

10. Follow Up on Feedback Given: If you’ve given constructive feedback, follow up within a few days to check on progress and provide additional support if needed. Track these follow-ups in your feedback log.

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