The Focused Manager: Feedback to Give Back
Photo Credit: alexdndz| Envato
Ever heard of the Vomit Comet? It’s the aircraft astronauts use to train for weightlessness. The plane climbs and dives to give passengers about thirty seconds of weightlessness with each cycle. The experience helps the astronauts prepare for the disorientation caused by the loss of gravity.
Like astronauts, employees who don’t receive sufficient feedback are operating in a disorienting environment. They might not get nauseated, but it doesn’t mean they enjoy the ride.
Managers can change that. Research from Gallup shows that employees who receive regular, meaningful feedback are far more engaged at work. If a manager wants to perform better, contribute to company performance, and help their employees thrive at work, they must become comfortable providing clear, actionable, and timely feedback.
Giving this kind of feedback isn’t the norm, though. Zippia research reports that only 28 percent of employees receive meaningful feedback at least once a week. In fact, most employees surveyed only receive feedback a few times a year, with one-fifth getting feedback once a year or less! This contrasts sharply with the 60 percent of employees who say they want feedback daily or weekly.
Why the disparity? Many managers struggle with giving feedback and find it is one of the most challenging aspects of the role.
Why Do Managers Avoid Feedback?
It is normal for managers to struggle to give feedback. For most, it doesn’t come naturally. Addressing someone directly can be intimidating, especially if they used to be a peer.
Managers notice things but hesitate to say something. They worry they’ll make things worse or lack time to address it sufficiently. They tell themselves there will be a better time, or they silently hope the matter will resolve itself. When not addressed, minor issues grow and become problematic. Eventually, employee performance suffers, and team morale begins to decline.
The good news is that this hesitation isn’t insurmountable. With practice, managers can provide clear, actionable, and timely feedback that improves employee and team performance. Over time, regular feedback becomes the group’s culture embraced by everyone.
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March 2025
Get It Before Giving It
To start, managers should lead the way and actively seek feedback.
Other team members might be just as hesitant to give managers feedback. To overcome this, managers can flip the script and invite feedback. This practice helps create a culture where giving feedback is the norm. More importantly, it is a path to accelerated personal development.
The key to getting great feedback is providing a specific area for the person to consider. This can be a skill area, a frequent situation, or a relationship. When asking for feedback, the manager should provide the observer with context and desired outcomes.
For example, “I’d like feedback on my communication skills in client meetings. I want the clients to feel more confident we can complete the work.” Or “I’d like feedback on my facilitation skills during staff meetings. I’d like to stimulate more interaction among the team.”
The person providing feedback then knows what to watch for and can provide detailed feedback. To further enhance a feedback culture, the manager should let their team know the feedback they received and what they are doing with it.
Simultaneously, managers must find opportunities to start practicing giving frequent feedback, and the easiest place to start is with positive feedback.
Find the Good Everywhere
Managers are driven to improve performance and solve problems, so they are biased to notice and react to the negative over the positive. However, managers should aim to give positive feedback at a 5:1 ratio to negative feedback.
To do that, they must train themselves to see the positive. They can begin by keeping a log of every positive event or behavior they notice. Each entry should include the employee, the action, and the impact.
For example, “Julie invited Bob to share his opinions at the launch meeting. His insights made the plan stronger.” Or “Kevin came in and said good morning to everyone. The overall mood improved.”
Keeping a log helps the manager be more disciplined about looking for positive events and provides a chance to construct their feedback. They should start practicing delivering the feedback as soon as they are comfortable.
The Art of Good Feedback
Good feedback is timely, clear, and actionable. Managers should follow these principles for high-quality feedback.
Most feedback has an expiration date. The more time that elapses between the event and the feedback, the less valuable it is. Feedback delivered past the expiration date is more damaging than not giving the input at all.
Consider an employee who is considered a problematic teammate due to their communication style on team chats. The employee might respond angrily if the manager waits until the annual review.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have easily fixed that. I thought I was being helpful!”
Now they are embarrassed, upset, and have lost trust in the organization. Therefore, managers should provide feedback as close as possible to the event being discussed.
As Brené Brown says, being clear is being kind. This is especially true when managers provide feedback to employees. Clear and specific feedback helps employees understand what they are doing well, builds trust, and encourages them to continue those behaviors.
For example, instead of saying, “Great job in the meeting yesterday,” try being more specific: “You did a great job in the meeting yesterday of soliciting everyone’s opinion and listening to their concerns.”
Finally, feedback must be actionable so that employees know exactly what to do with the information. If a behavior change is needed, the manager should clearly outline the specific adjustments. For example, “Please prepare for meetings in advance, arrive on time, and be ready to participate.”
Mastering Feedback Models
One more technique managers can use to increase their confidence in delivering effective feedback is to follow a model for their feedback.
Although there are many models, the table below highlights three useful ones that managers can use immediately. These can be memorized to structure a conversation to flow smoothly and confidently.
Habit of Feedback
Employees want to do their best. They feel engaged and fulfilled when they are doing great work, getting along with their coworkers, and helping the business grow. To achieve all of that, they need good feedback. It is part of a manager’s duty to provide it.
It doesn’t happen overnight, though. Feedback is a skill; like mastering any skill, it must be studied and practiced.
If managers build awareness of employee behaviors, they will find many opportunities for positive feedback. They must practice and build the habit of giving regular feedback so that, when negative feedback is delivered, it is well received.
The tips and models in this article are practical tools for managers to get better at giving feedback. When they do, they can end the up-and-down ride and launch their career into new orbits of success.
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