7 Strategies Leaders Can Use to Give Feedback

Communicating feedback is essential for the professional growth of your team, but not all leaders and managers can do it successfully. 57% of employees like receiving corrective feedback, but its effectivity depends on the delivery.

Positive feedback creates a nurturing atmosphere in the workplace and motivates employees to perform as best they can. Moreover, good leadership and communication skills can promote openness between you and your employees.

As leaders, it’s part of your job to give your team member feedback regarding their performance. Here are some ways you can provide concrete and constructive feedback to your employees.

1. Balance the positive and the negative.

Every employee has strengths and weaknesses. Highlighting both can help the employee realize what they should continue doing, as well as the work habits they should quit.

Not a lot of people are keen on hearing negative feedback, but it is necessary to see improvement and growth in a person. Balance it out by commending the employee’s good practices. If you zero in on the negative aspects of an evaluation, the employee may feel disheartened and dispirited. Be sensitive and use positive and encouraging language.

2. Give objective and issue-based feedback.

Feedback should be factual and focused on objective metrics. This method eliminates bias and promotes an honest discussion about work expectations.

For instance, if employees are consistently performing below quota, it might be because the KPIs are unrealistic. This problem is solved by adjusting metrics. However, if it’s only one employee who is underperforming, you could suggest training modules and discuss ways for them to be able to reach their goals next time.

Don’t make it personal, as this might result in retaliation or defensiveness. When feedback is objective, it will sound constructive and helpful.

3. Prioritize the feedback topics.

Gauge which areas of concern need to be addressed right away, and touch only on those topics during your session. For instance, if your company has 20 core values that each employee must possess, you don’t need to go over all of those per person. Instead, discuss the areas where the employee may need improvement, as well as the attributes that he or she is displaying excellently.

You can also segment your evaluation in different timelines. Monthly or quarterly assessments may be useful for tracking results and data, but you can set up one for morale and values bi-annually. It will help set your employee’s frame of mind during evaluation.

4. Set a schedule.

To keep feedback a part of your office culture, it would help to do it periodically. This is where those quarterly and bi-annual evaluation sessions come to play. Scheduling lets your employees know when to expect their evaluations and prepare for it accordingly.

Regular feedback sessions also allow you to document the growth of your employees. Laboratory Equipment points out that this could be the basis of promotions, salary increase, or termination down the road.

5. Keep an eye on progress.

The goal of giving feedback is improvement and change. After relaying feedback to your employees, routinely check up on them about their goals and struggles. You’ll also be able to see if they are on the right track. This will also help them discuss their wins and challenges with you.

Progress tracking will also clue you in if your feedback method is effective. If successful, you will see change. If not, there may be resistance or failure in follow-through.

6. Make sure to identify the reason or problem.

Vague statements will not get you anywhere. It’s not enough to tell them that they’re “doing a good job” or that they can “do more next time.” Be specific when making your comments, and if possible, cite instances that can back up your claims. It will be useful to have baselines and criteria you can refer to when evaluating different areas of their work performance.

It will also be helpful to have baselines and criteria you can refer to evaluate different areas of their work performance. This is so your employees don’t feel that the feedback is not baseless.

7. Ask for their feedback in return.

Communication is a two-way process. Refrain from sending out your employee after the evaluation without hearing them speak. They will appreciate the chance to explain their side regarding a particular situation, bring up a new concern, or even make suggestions for the company.

Not only will this empower your employees, but it will strengthen your employer-employee relationship, too. Use every feedback session as a chance to get to know your team members on a deeper level.

Conclusion

Statistics show that 92% of employees are open to any form of feedback. Take advantage of your open-minded workforce to instill more efficient work practices and shape your team members to be better at what they do.

One of the hallmarks of being a good leader is to be able to balance the right amount of praise and helpful criticism to their employees. Fortunately, this skill can be learned. You can attend leadership communication training to develop your strategies and make the most out of your feedback sessions.

Good leaders build great team members through guidance and helpful feedback. Continuously improve on your methods and see which ones your team responds to the most.