A Quick-Start Guide To Giving Feedback

Giving feedback was one of the most challenging things for me when stepping into leadership. At that point I was already late to the game—feedback isn’t just for leadership roles, it’s essential for healthy peer-to-peer relationships.

Giving feedback is nuanced, and no matter how much you know there’s no substitute for practice and paying attention. That being said, here are some tips to get you started on the right foot. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s something I wish someone would’ve shared with me decades ago.

Giving Feedback:

Give it sooner rather than later.
There’s an expiration date. The further you get from the event that triggered the feedback, the less effective the feedback will be.

Give it in person.
In this new hybrid work world, you might need to Zoom or FaceTime. Make it happen. No excuses for not looking someone in the eye while delivering feedback. (Don’t even think about giving critical feedback in an email.)

Give it often.
Regular feedback conversations build trust and connection. The longer people go without feedback, the more they’re left to wonder if anyone cares about the job they're doing, good or bad. You do care, so show them.

Be specific.
No generic “You’re doing a great job!” or “You need to do better.” Feedback exists to affirm or change behavior, when we’re vague we strip feedback of its power.

It’s not only for things that need improvement!
Feedback is for reinforcing positive behavior as well as addressing what needs improvement. If your team only hears from you when they make mistakes, how empowered do you think they'll feel?

Explain the Why behind the What.
Connect feedback to your values and/or the guest experience. This helps people see how what they do every day impacts the entire organization and beyond. Everyone’s work matters. Feedback is a useful tool for illustrating this.

Check Your Intention
Use feedback to help someone grow, not to make them feel small. This is an opportunity to help someone learn (which is different than showing off how much you know).

Just because you feel uncomfortable while giving feedback doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.
New things are hard. Making your best effort despite the uncomfortable feelings is way more effective than doing nothing.

Giving feedback is ultimately an opportunity for alignment and growth. It helps to see it as the generous act of helping which it is, and not an act of hurting which it sometimes feels like.

I used to feel like people would hate work if I consistently gave them feedback, turns out the inverse is true.