Welcome

Welcome to another edition of, the newly updated, Leadership Launchpad. This week we are diving into the fourth pillar of what I believe are the core leadership skills any aspiring or new leader needs to develop and this is a big one. It’s also one where a lot of leaders and non leaders struggle alike. It’s the art of giving feedback.

I remember when I first started leading and had to give some feedback to a direct report on a piece of work they had done on a cross functional project. All I remember about it was I thought it went well and the person understood what the issue had been. One week later I found out it had not landed. I realised that in the meeting with the individual what I did was stutter through the feedback and more or less deliver a positive sandwich was more like:

‘This part you did well, you could have improved here but did really well here.’

Following our meeting the individual came out of the meeting thinking it went well, is what I heard a week later. It hit me hard that I needed to really think about how I give as well as receive feedback.

The tips and guidance below come from my many years looking at how learnt and developed my skills to improve giving feedback.

Why Feedback is the Leadership Skill That Can’t Be Ignored

Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered the three foundational pillars of leadership:

1. Knowing Yourself: Because self-awareness is the starting point of all great leadership.

2. Communication: Because without clear communication, even the best strategies fail.

3. Setting Clear Goals: Because directionless teams can’t perform at their best.

This week, we dive into the final pillar: Giving Feedback.

Giving feedback is one of the most powerful ways to develop your team, improve performance, and build trust. Yet, it’s also one of the most uncomfortable areas for new and experienced leaders alike. And too many fail at this regularly which has a big impact on growth for your team and bigger yet, impact to overall bottom line of the company.

Many managers avoid it altogether either fearing awkward conversations or assuming their team already knows what they need to improve. But here’s the reality: if you’re not giving regular, constructive feedback, your team is flying blind.

The best leaders make feedback a habit, not an event.

Why Most Leaders Struggle with Feedback

Giving feedback isn’t always easy. Many leaders fall into these common traps:

• They wait too long. Feedback should be timely. If you wait weeks (or months) to address an issue, it loses impact and feels like a punishment rather than a growth opportunity.

• They only focus on mistakes. If the only time you give feedback is when something goes wrong, your team will associate feedback with negativity making them defensive rather than open to improvement.

• They’re too vague. ‘Saying Good’ job or ‘This needs improvement’ isn’t helpful. Effective feedback is specific, actionable, and tied to clear expectations.

• They avoid tough conversations. It’s easier to ignore underperformance or behaviour issues, but avoiding feedback does more harm in the long run for both the individual and the team.

When feedback is done well, it builds confidence, accelerates growth, and fosters a culture of trust and continuous improvement.

How to Give Feedback That Actually Works

1. Make It Regular and Expected

   The best teams don’t wait for formal performance reviews to have feedback conversations. They make feedback part of their culture.

   In 1:1s: Ask, ‘What’s one thing you feel went well this week? What’s one thing we can improve?’

   After projects: Have a short debrief to discuss what worked and what didn’t.

   Real-time feedback: Give immediate praise or course correction when needed.

The more frequent and natural feedback becomes, the less stressful it feels for both you and your team.

2. Use the 3-Part Feedback Framework

A simple and effective structure for giving feedback:

• Observation: Describe the behaviour or action. (I noticed that in the last two meetings, you interrupted before others finished speaking.)

• Impact: Explain why it matters. (This makes it harder for everyone to contribute and may discourage quieter team members from speaking up.)

• Next Step: Offer a solution or improvement. (Let’s try to be more mindful in discussions by pausing before responding.)

This keeps feedback specific, constructive, and actionable.

Alternatively use the SBI framework:

• Situation: describe the situation you saw or experienced, go into detail on this as much as you can.

• Behaviour: What was the behaviour that you saw or experienced

• Impact: What was the overall impact of this?

3. Balance Positive and Developmental Feedback

   • Reinforce strengths. Don’t just fix weaknesses help people double down on what they do well. ‘You handled that client objection really well’ your confidence and clarity made a huge difference.

   • Frame growth as an opportunity, not a failure. ‘You have great technical skills. Let’s work on presenting them with more confidence in meetings.’

People grow fastest when they feel valued and supported, not just corrected.

4. Ask for Feedback as a Leader

Feedback isn’t a one-way street. The best leaders actively seek input on their own performance.

Try asking your team:

• What’s one thing I could do differently to support you better?

• How can I improve the way I give feedback?

• What’s something I should start, stop, or continue doing as your manager?

This builds trust and creates a culture where feedback flows in all directions.

Reflection Questions for the Week

• How often are you giving feedback to your team? Is it enough?

• Do you balance positive reinforcement with constructive guidance?

• Have you asked for feedback on your leadership recently?

Book Recommendation of the week

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Summary

Radical Candor is one of the most well-known books on feedback, offering a simple yet powerful approach: Care Personally, Challenge Directly. The idea is that great leaders don’t sugarcoat feedback, but they also don’t deliver it in a way that damages relationships.

3 Key Takeaways for Leaders:

1. Feedback Requires Both Candor and Care: Leaders should be honest but also show they genuinely care about their teams growth.

2. Don’t Avoid Tough Conversations: Addressing issues early prevents bigger problems down the road.

3. Make Feedback an Everyday Habit: The more you normalise feedback, the less intimidating it becomes.

Next Week: We’ll wrap up the Four Pillars of Leadership series and explore how to put them all together into a practical framework for leading with confidence.

And that’s a wrap for this week. Do let me know how you find giving more feedback, if you want to run it through before you do then make sure you grab a colleague and ask them for their thoughts. If you don’t have anyone then feel free to reach out me!

PS: If you have just started leading then you will love my Leadership Toolkit with a lot of frameworks, templates and guides. It’s everything every leader needs. Get it FREE here.