Strengthening the culture of continuous feedback in your leadership
« Honesty is not about saying what you think, but thinking about what you say. »
Hypolite de Livry, Thoughts, reflections, impatient maxims, sayings
Participative or collaborative management, inclusive or visionary leadership—leaders navigate among many choices. Finding the right balance between these different components is the very essence of a leader’s reflective work, as is motivating, strengthening belonging, and empowering teams. Leaders must also both prevent talent from fleeing to competitors and attract the best profiles, especially in today’s era of the “Great Resignation”!
So how can one strengthen a culture that truly values talented individuals while minimizing internal processes that hinder innovation and efficiency? Netflix’s solution for achieving top performance is to first increase talent density and then reinforce a culture of feedback. This is the leadership model Reed Hastings successfully implemented to become the talented multinational production and distribution company we know today!
Feedback as a key tool for personal transformation
For leaders, identifying strengths, blind spots, or weaknesses is easier by regularly seeking “critical” feedback from peers and team members. When framed positively, such feedback encourages self-reflection and helps adjust transformation plans.
Never forget: strengthening your ability to receive feedback and turn it into action is a core skill based on continuous feedback within the organization and the leader’s own example.
Continuous feedback reduces misunderstandings, clarifies implicit assumptions, and fosters a climate of shared responsibility. It works especially well in multi-matrix environments where maintaining ownership of projects and their success can be challenging! I encourage you to systematically include feedback moments in your one-on-ones and meetings. As a manager or leader, your behavior during feedback is crucial for acceptance. For example, you can reassure collaborators by showing appreciation or gratitude and formally acknowledge feedback with phrases like:
“Thank you for your insightful feedback, I take it on board.”
“Thanks for your perspective, I’ll reflect on it.”
“Thank you, but I don’t agree with this point, and I stand by that.”
Netflix uses the “4A” feedback guidelines which you might find useful:
Giving feedback:
Assist first: Frame feedback with positive intent
Applicable: Focus feedback on what can be changed
Receiving feedback:
3. Appreciate: Show that the feedback is valued
4. Accept or reject: Respond sincerely, whether you act on the feedback or not
The virtuous circle of feedback
Encouraging honest, well-phrased feedback within teams clarifies many situations and eliminates resentment and inefficiency. However, systematic feedback is not always welcomed, especially in some organizations or with certain leaders!
Regular feedback processes like 360° or 180° reviews (facilitated by an expert or coach) help everyone take responsibility for their behavior and strengthen the feedback culture.
Ultimately, wouldn’t finding a balance between behaviors that inspire your teams to listen and push themselves be a key to inspiring leadership? Constructive feedback is a complex collective learning process requiring strong leadership exemplarity, like Reed Hastings, who even published a book with very concrete examples. It’s also an excellent way to support communities toward empowerment.
At Be&Lead, we’ve developed this culture for the benefit of individuals and the collective good, and I’m proud of that!
#reflection #Leadership #coaching #supervision #management #feedback #context