One of the core skills of a great leader is the ability to provide constructive employee feedback in a way that is clear, concise and well received. Too often messages are either vague and unclear or delivered as an emotional blow to an employee’s ego. One way to ensure that your employee feedback is going to lead to change, and not have a negative impact on your relationship, is to have a roadmap for approaching feedback.
As a leadership coach, I have been using a 9-step model, and sharing it with coaching clients, for many years. Reports back are that the approach removes the hesitation to providing feedback and helps leaders avoid blaming employees.
Try it out. Practice it. You don’t need to use all the steps all the time. In fact, steps 3 and 4 should only be used if you have strong feelings that will get in the way of the relationship if not shared. Over time, you’ll master the skill and become a magnet for top talent who want to work with leaders committed to their development and growth.
This article was published more than 1 year ago. Some information may no longer be current.