Providing your employees with feedback is one of the best ways of nurturing leadership in an organization. When delivered with tact, feedback motivates, encourages, and enables people’s in-depth development.
Many people have ideas about what makes a good leader, with some even confusing a boss for a leader. However, one thing is certain: leadership does not exist in a vacuum. It requires an environment where employees can thrive and feel fulfilled.
One of the best tools a leader can use to create a fulfilling environment for their employees is providing effective feedback. Good feedback creates not only a healthy work environment but also nurtures growth.
What’s more, feedback is a critical facet of an effective product strategy, ensuring everyone is on the same page at all times during the product development process.
Best Practices to Follow When Giving Feedback
One of the key characteristics of a leader is their ability to give corrective feedback when necessary. Giving constructive criticism, however, can be a challenge for some managers. Nonetheless, when done right, it can positively impact both the manager and the employee’s future performance, creating a more productive work environment.
If you’re unsure how to deliver constructive criticism that allows employees the opportunity to improve future behavior, consider these four tips.
Be Specific
The main purpose of giving feedback is to provide direction for better results in the future. Therefore, always make sure your comments are accurate, clear, and direct. This means avoiding being vague or generalizing situations.
Deliver Feedback in Private
One of the defining characteristics of a leader is empathy. Unlike a boss, a leader will not berate their employee in public. If they have to correct an employee, they will do it in private. When you criticize an employee in public, they will interpret it as putting them on the spot. As you can imagine, it is difficult to focus on your job when all you can think about is how your boss embarrassed you.
Keep the Past in the Rearview
Do not criticize past behaviors when delivering constructive criticism. Instead, focus on future opportunities. It’s more important to provide employees with guidance for their future performance than it is to remind them of past mistakes.
Give Praise When It’s Due
As a leader, it is equally important (and often overlooked) that you let employees know when they’re doing a great job as it is to point out where they need improvement. Providing positive feedback when called for will have a lasting effect on employees and boost their morale, confidence, and productivity.
Final Thoughts
A company with a good feedback culture is more likely to be successful. Since feedback provides an opportunity for growth through correcting and rewarding, it naturally grooms leadership.
While feedback should be encouraged across all ranks in the company, it is especially relevant to program managers. As a program manager, you are in direct charge of the product development process, meaning your actions have the biggest impact on the organization’s profitability.
Consider making effective feedback a part of your acceptance criteria to develop a successful and healthy company.