As a new leader, building a culture of consistent feedback can feel like a lofty goal. We all know that culture doesn’t just emerge on its own, but it can be difficult to pinpoint how to effectively create this environment. After all, if the team isn’t fully engaged, feedback is unlikely to produce the desired change. Structure and consistency are the raw materials that a new leader can use to build a lasting culture of feedback.
Whether you’re a new leader or simply new to leading a team, it is essential to open clear lines of communication about performance. This helps your team members learn, develop new skills, engage in their work, and perform better overall. There are three key considerations for establishing opportunities for feedback and making them stick:
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Soliciting feedback for yourself as a manager.
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Giving feedback that helps your team members learn.
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Implementing and supporting 1-to-1 feedback rhythms for the team.
Feedback for You
When developing a culture of feedback on a new team, consider soliciting feedback at a high frequency. Every meeting, email, and interaction is an opportunity to open new lines of communication. The feedback you request as a manager doesn’t necessarily have to be about your own performance or leadership but can extend to the practices, tools, and rhythms in place.
At Insight Experience, we close nearly every internal meeting with these questions:
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Was this meeting a good use of time?
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What could I (the meeting leader/organizer) have done better?
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Is everyone clear on their next steps?
This micro, on-the-spot feedback allows everyone in the organization to feel confident and comfortable sharing opinions. It is an opportunity for leaders to role-model exceptional feedback, recognition, and vulnerability. As an additional benefit, this practice also creates a unique opportunity for all participants to check their understanding and seek clarity on what is expected of them, which can increase individual performance.
Additionally, there are times when managers can solicit personal and developmental feedback from team members. Hugely beneficial questions for a manger to leverage during a 1-to-1 meeting include:
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What could I be doing better to help you grow your skill set?
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What is something you wish I understood about the way you work?
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How do you prefer to be led?
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What is something I should start doing? Something I should stop doing?
Feedback for Your Team
In their book Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall (2019) argue that it is a myth that employees desire feedback. They cite a study examining the effects of negative feedback on learning, which shows that negative feedback “systematically inhibits [learning] and is, neurologically speaking, how to create impairment” (p. 120). If negative feedback impairs learning—and by extension, decreases engagement and performance—how can managers create a feedback culture that enhances everyone’s experience at work?
The solution offered up in Nine Lies is summed up in this truth: “people need attention—and when you give it to us in a safe and nonjudgmental environment, we will come and stay and play and work” (p. 116). By focusing on what team members do best, you enhance their ability to learn and boost their motivation to perform.
Effective managers consistently spend time with every individual on their team. The managers people want to work for ask questions to better understand each person on a human level. Good leaders genuinely care about what each teammate currently contributes and how they would like to contribute in the future. Outstanding leaders intentionally observe their team to catch each person doing something effortlessly and effectively. They then celebrate and cultivate these strengths, building on what each team member already does well.
Of course, leaders should recognize and call out great work in public. Celebrate wins! But the best place to have meaningful conversations with employees about their performance and development is in a 1-to-1 manager-employee meeting. Get consistent with these meetings, and you’ll be rounding third base.
Feedback Rhythms
It is widely recognized that the annual performance review alone does not provide sufficient feedback for meaningful improvement. Even with the highest quality feedback, the infrequency of these reviews won’t yield the desired results for individual performance or team culture.
For a culture of feedback to grow roots and sprout on a new team, consider establishing a high-frequency meeting schedule. Here is an example of a 1-to-1 manager-employee check-in cadence that has proven effective:
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*Weekly check-in (30 mins): Dedicated time for your employee to give status updates on project progress, address urgent issues, and resolve blockers. You as a manager can use this time to empower and equip employees to independently deal with urgent issues. Reserve some time for personal connection as well: Get to know your people!
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Monthly meeting (60-75 mins): Talk through quarterly priorities and progress toward concrete work goals. Use this opportunity to step back and consider how the work is getting done. What’s working? What’s not?
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Quarterly meeting (60-120 mins): Reserved for discussing the employee’s personal and professional development goals. Use this time to tweak goals, set a strategy for the upcoming quarter, and engage in coaching conversations.
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Annual review (90-120 mins): This is your company-directed annual review of achievements and progress, measurement against goals, and compensation conversations. Also include conversation about development goals and time for coaching conversations.
*Some might argue that a weekly feedback meeting is too time-consuming, especially for a manager of large teams. If you have more than 10-12 direct reports, consider doing these check-ins biweekly. Be aware that these meetings should ultimately replace daily emails and instant messages about urgent issues. Employees should use this dedicated face time with the manager instead.
The key to developing a culture of feedback and improvement is to establish a regular cadence and remain consistent. Consider delegating ownership of these meetings to the employees themselves. Those high performers (like yourself) will take the opportunity to be challenged and coached seriously, benefiting the entire team from the rising tide.
References:
Buckingham, M., & Goodall, A. (2019). Nine lies about work: A freethinking leader’s guide to the real world. Harvard Business Review Press.
