Feedback and Performance Reviews

Positive feedback? Hurry through it. It doesn’t feel 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭. Negative feedback? That’s what we can 𝘧𝘪𝘹. That’s where the real work is. Too many engineers and leaders treat positive feedback like it’s background noise. I’ve seen this in clients, teammates, and honestly—myself, at times. But here’s the problem: when you train your brain to only listen for what’s wrong, every feedback session starts to feel like a threat. You miss the information about what’s working. You lose the signal that says “𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”. That makes feedback harder to give and harder to receive. This is how we create feedback-phobia. Positive feedback isn’t fluff. It’s a reinforcement tool. It tells your brain, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩—𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.” ↳ If you’re receiving feedback: slow down when someone tells you what you did well. Ask why it worked. Positive feedback is data. ↳ If you’re giving feedback: don’t let the good parts get skipped. Pause and say, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵.” What kind of feedback are you wired to notice—and what might you be missing? When was the last time you let positive feedback actually land? Give this a repost ♻️ to help others find this message ✍🏻 You might like my weekly newsletter https://lnkd.in/gxtnCFay

"You completely missed the mark. This isn't what I asked for." Getting harsh feedback can feel like a career crisis. I know it's a punch in the gut. Often followed by the knee-jerk reaction to defend yourself. I used to do it too, until I observed a colleague. She carefully nodded, took some notes. And then said, "Thank you." Compared to my defensive body language and "yes buts," she was a model of grace under pressure. I set out to borrow her ninja moves and I added some of my own. Here they are: 1️⃣ The Shhh... Rule ❌ Immediate emotional reactions ✅ Say "thank you," and sit on it for now 💡Why? ↳ It gives your emotions time to cool down ↳ Once calm, you can objectively process the info 2️⃣ Take Careful Notes ❌ Relying on memory ✅ Write down what you heard word for word 💡Why? ↳ Shows you're taking it seriously ↳ Helps you spot patterns over time 3️⃣ Ask the Right Question ❌ "Why are you criticizing me?" ✅ "What would you like to see instead?" 💡Why? ↳ Clarifies feedback and creates action items ↳ Shows you're solution-focused 4️⃣The Mirror Technique ❌ Guessing their meaning ✅ Reflect back: "What I'm hearing is..." 💡Why? ↳ Catches misunderstandings early ↳ Shows you're actively listening 5️⃣ The Thoughtful Follow-Up ❌ Avoidance ✅ Schedule a check-in 2-3 weeks later 💡Why? ↳ Demonstrates accountability ↳ Builds trust and strengthens the relationship 6️⃣ The Documentation Log ❌ Treat each feedback session as isolated ✅ Keep a feedback journal 💡Why? ↳ Spot recurring themes ↳ Some bosses say they gave feedback and didn't 7️⃣ The Reframe ❌ Taking feedback as personal attacks ✅ Ask yourself: "If my best friend got this feedback..." 💡Why? ↳ Creates emotional distance ↳ Leads to better solutions Most people give feedback because they want you to do better. They're investing their time in your growth. Do you have a tip for handling tough feedback? Share it in the comments👇 ♻️Repost to share with others who are supporting job hunters. 🔔Follow @Sarah Baker Andrus for more career insights.

In my first year as a manager I alienated one of my reports by giving him too much feedback in a direct and pointed way. The feedback was "right" but delivered to bluntly and thus unwelcome. Just because you “can” give feedback doesn’t mean you should. The power of your feedback comes from the trust you build with your reports. Here is how you can build it: The most important thing to understand is that even if you have the institutional authority to deliver this feedback (your title), you need the relational authority before you can deliver it effectively. Read this line again please - doing so will help you avoid either giving pain or making problems for yourself (I did both). This means that your reports need to trust and respect you before they will listen to any feedback you give. You can build this trust and respect by: 0) Being Empathetic I was too blunt. I thought that only being right or wrong mattered, not how I said things or the judgment in my tone and words. I lacked Emotional Intelligence (EQ). How you say things matters, and this means not just the words you say but the real intent behind them. My intention in that early review was not truly focused on helping the person, but rather on scolding him into better behavior. I'm not surprised he reacted poorly to it. 1) Being Consistent Good managers are consistently giving feedback—both bad and good—to their reports. Make sure you are recognizing and acknowledging your employees’ strengths as much (or more) than you are pointing out their areas for improvement. This will make them feel comfortable with you pointing out room for improvement because they know you see them for more than their flaws. 2) Never surprise someone with a review. This is related to point 1. If you are consistently giving small pieces of feedback, a more serious piece of negative feedback should not blindside your employee. They should know that it is coming and understand what the issue is. 3) Deliver corrective feedback ASAP, and use clear examples. As soon as you see a pattern of behavior that needs to be addressed, address it using clear evidence. This gives the employee the chance to reflect on the behavior while it is still fresh in their minds, not months later when their review comes around. 4) Check in to confirm that you are being heard correctly Ask the employee if they understand the feedback you are giving and why you are giving it. 5) Be specific enough to drive change The more specific behaviors and examples you can use to support your feedback, the better your employee can understand that you aren’t speaking from a place of dislike or bias. This also gives them more concrete references to inform their behavior change. Readers—What other ways do you build a relationship before giving feedback? (Or, how have you messed this up?)

In my 18 years at Amazon, I've seen more careers transformed by the next 2 weeks than by the other 50 weeks of the year combined. It's performance review season. Most people rush through it like a chore, seeing it as an interruption to their "real work." The smartest people I know do the opposite: they treat these upcoming weeks as their highest-leverage opportunity of the year. After handling over fifty feedback requests, self-reviews, and upward feedback 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 for nearly two decades, I've learned this isn't just another corporate exercise. This is when careers pivot, accelerate, or stall. Your feedback directly impacts compensation, career trajectories, and professional growth. Your self-assessment frames how leadership views your entire year's work. This isn't busywork—it's career-defining work, but we treat it with as much enthusiasm as taking out trash. Here's how to make the most of it: 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 - Ask yourself: "What perspective am I uniquely positioned to share?" Everyone will comment on the obvious wins and challenges. Your job is to provide insights others miss, making your feedback instantly invaluable. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀 - I keep a living document for every person I work with. When something feedback-worthy happens—good or challenging—it goes in immediately. No more scrambling to remember projects from months ago. This ensures specific, timely examples when needed. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - Don't just list tasks—craft a narrative. Lead with behaviors that drove impact. Show your growth in handling complex situations, influencing across teams, and making difficult trade-offs. Demonstrate self-awareness by acknowledging areas where you're actively improving. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 - They receive little feedback all year. Focus on how they help you succeed and specific ways they could support you better. Make it dense with information—this might be their only chance to learn how to serve their team better. 𝗢𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 - The difference between criticism and valuable input is showing you genuinely want the other person to succeed. When that intention shines through, you don't need to walk on eggshells. Be specific about the behavior, its impact, and how it could improve. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 - Good constructive feedback often feels like an insult at first. But here's the mindset shift that changed everything for me: feedback is a gift. It's direct guidance on improvement from those who work closest with you. When you feel that defensive instinct rise, pause and focus on understanding instead. Here's your challenge: This year, treat performance review season like the most important work you'll do. Because in terms of long-term impact on careers—both yours and others'—it just might be.

Learning how to manage up is a key to success. Here's one template I wish I had earlier in my career to help people manage up (and down) better. Ideally you have an experienced manager who knows how to create clear goals, provide specific detailed feedback and helps you remove blockers. Unfortunately I chat with tons of operators who don't feel like they get clear enough direction. Instead of waiting for things to change, take things into your own hands and drive a clear 1:1 or regular communication with your manager. How? Fill out this document, update it weekly and go over it with your manager. The Keys: 1. Goals this quarter, your current results and projected results - this will help you get alignment on the goals and force your manager to be clear about what success looks like 2. Wins - What went particularly well this week. It's important for both of you to celebrate your successes and to reflect on why certain things worked (this make it a lot easier to get critical feedback when they need to give it) 3. Updates - Last week I completed X -This upcoming week will be successful if: (write out 2-3 priorities) - Throughout my career I've found people throwing more and more things at me. The reality is that we only have so much time and everything has an opportunity cost. Therefore, by writing out your 2-3 priorities, you are explicitly getting alignment on what other things you are putting on the back burner. If your manager doesn't agree with your priorities then at least you can discuss that and get aligned on what should be rearranged. 4. Roadblocks, concerns & items needing input - This is the section or the conversations throughout the week where your manager can help you problem solve based on their previous experiences or knowledge, they can help you think through different solutions to the problem and pressure test your thinking or they can just sign off on whatever it is that you are trying to get across the line. 5. Personal Development (PD) - This is the section where you're going to both reflect and push for specific and clear feedback from your manager. It'll force both of you to reflect regularly and figure out what to focus on to improve. -PD skill I am working on: -PD update from last week: -PD idea for next week:   -Feedback from this week: -What I think I did well: -What I think I could have done better: -What manager thinks I did well or could improve: (Ask!) -What I think my manager did well or could improve: 6. Stretch Question (Your manager will ask you a question. No need to fill anything in.) Now I understand that many companies are opting not to do 1:1s. Each company should do what they believe is right, but even if you don't have 1:1s I do believe you should be having each of these conversations regularly Huge thank you to my partner Rebecca Price for creating this template that has helped me as a manager immensely and put structure around many of the things I did naturally earlier in my career.

Leadership Principle 3: Engage all team members in culture AND make culture the top metric in annual reviews A couple leaders can greatly change a culture but they can only take it so far. As a leader, you must inspire every employee to own the culture. This means rewarding culture champions and driving a direct connection between culture participation and pay. So often, leaders talk about culture but it doesn’t even come up at review time. I'm convinced that culture and results are directly linked. Even if I'm wrong, I'd much prefer to have a legacy of happy employees that enjoyed their interactions with me, the business and customers. We all work way too many hours to not have fun doing it. Call to Action (for you and your team): 1. Consider replicating the Culture Champions initiative. Each quarter, employees nominate their peers as those that best make work a positive place. Highlight them and affirm the behaviors in quarterly all employee meetings. Behaviors to really call out and reward: deep experts openly providing their knowledge without attitude, team members who go out of their way to welcome new members, those that step up when others are down and those that are constantly smiling while inspiring others do the same. 2. Make Employee Insights scores or culture impact your first and main discussion in annual reviews. If your business doesn’t ask employees their opinions, start doing this tomorrow. Every team has those that have been taught to execute regardless of the devastation left behind. To break this cycle, you must show that culture isn’t a side initiative but the initiative. You must create a link to pay. I’d argue this is done <5% of the time and that is a big mistake. When employees are engaged, everyone lives better, results come and people work hard even when you aren’t watching.  3. Culture is like safety, when walking around you should look for positives (immediately compliment them) and negatives (immediately address them).  4. Consider taking a group of your newest and youngest employees out once a quarter to build a community amongst them, allow them to grow comfortable with you in a non-intimidating atmosphere, allow them to ask questions they’d never ask in a formal setting, to get a pulse for how your team is doing with welcoming new employees and to encourage them to nominate those that have best welcomed them as Culture Champions. It's fun and effective! 5. Spend the money to do something as a team after the quarterly staff meetings. Getting people out of work mode to get to know each other is critical in helping your team know where each other is coming from and getting all to value everyone’s differences fully. Better yet, don't spend money and go make a difference together at a food bank, orphanage, etc. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on where you’ve seen any of the points work, what hit you the hardest, what I missed and where you disagree.  #caterpillar  #leadership  #culture

After receiving 10,538 pieces of publicly available, real-time feedback in my decade at Bridgewater, I learned a lot of hard lessons about personal development. Avoiding this one mistake when giving feedback tops my list: Assuming you know Why... - You can't read minds - You put them on defense - You often favor your biases Instead, try this: When you ___. -> This is what the camera saw. Only facts. I experienced ___. -> This is where your POV comes in. Which resulted in ___. -> Tie this to team outcomes. 💡Here's an example: When you...reviewed the proposal with the client I experienced...you dismissing their concerns Which resulted in...us losing the deal. ✅ Why this works: - It leaves open the possibility you were wrong - It doesn't propose any motive - It is clear and focused ❌ How you can mess it up: - Surround it with fake compliments and caveats - Offer more feedback before resolving - Add "Because you___" to the end We're doing a free 30-minute lesson to help managers confidently navigate 3 critical conversations: - Your team is underperforming - Your boss is unengaged - Your peer is unhelpful Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eyNv239g And if you found this post insightful: - Please follow me 🔔 for more Dave Kline - And share ♻️ with your community by reposting

The way you structure feedback can inspire change or defensiveness. This is my favorite recipe for feedback––and it's not the compliment sandwich. 🥪 Everyone talks about the importance of delivering feedback as soon as you see it. However, most managers get tongue-tied, even when they notice a pattern. Why? It's hard to bring up something in the right way, ESPECIALLY if it'll upset someone you care about and work with. It can feel easier to not bring it up at all. That's why this 4-step feedback format is a game-changer. Whether big or small, having a script keeps feedback clear and kind. Here's how it works: 🍽 Start with some table setting. It's helpful to know if your teammate is ready to receive feedback. You can say, "Are you in the head space to hear some feedback right now?" or "I have some thoughts on ways we can improve this process, are you open to hearing it?" 👀 Step 1: Action Noticed. Clearly state the action or behavior that you noticed. This could be a one-time behavior or a pattern. Calling this out can focus the conversation. For example, "I noticed that you've been coming to our team retros late." 📆 Step 2: Specific Situation. The best feedback is specific. Offering situations where this happened can ground the conversation beyond opinions. For example, "I’ve had to ping you for the last three retro meetings, usually after 10-15 min." ❤️🩹 Step 3: Impact of Behavior. This part explains the "why" behind you bringing this up. It helps show the impact of this behavior on processes or the rest of the team. "Our team really values your opinion and so we often delay our discussion for when you arrive." ⏯️ Step 4: Ask to Continue or Change Behavior. Finally, this request suggests next steps to take based on this feedback. You can also pose it as a question if you'd like to co-create a solution. For example, "What normally gets in the way for you? Would it be helpful to move this retro?" This format works great for praise and for constructive feedback. It's also a great habit that helps managers notice feedback they're sitting on or haven't actioned yet. Once a week, challenge yourself to format a piece of feedback! How do you format your feedback or praise? Let me know in the comments! #feedback #leadership #management #peopleops #hr #peopleexperience

🔄 The Emotional Reset: Reframing the Narrative in Leadership 🧠 Neuroscience Insight: Have you ever received tough feedback and immediately felt defensive? That’s your brain’s default mode network (DMN) at work—jumping to worst-case assumptions and emotional hijacking. But here’s the truth: Reframing engages the prefrontal cortex, shifting us from reaction to rational problem-solving. 📖 A Quick Story: A leader I coached received harsh public feedback from an executive during a meeting. Their initial reaction? “They don’t respect my work—I need to push back!” Frustration took over, and their body language showed it. ✅ The Shift: A Simple Emotional Reset Before reacting, they asked themselves: 🔹 What’s the bigger picture here? This feedback is about improving outcomes, not a personal attack. 🔹 If I were coaching someone else, what would I tell them? Pause, take notes, and ask clarifying questions. 🔹 What emotion do I want to lead with? Calm curiosity instead of defensiveness. 🔥 The Outcome: Instead of escalating the tension, the leader responded with: 💬 “Thank you for the feedback. I’d love to understand what specific improvements you’d like to see. Can we explore solutions together?” 🚀 CRAVE Leadership in Action: ✔ Respect – For oneself and others, even in challenging moments. ✔ Authenticity – Acknowledging emotions without reacting impulsively. ✔ Empathy – Understanding the perspective behind the feedback. ✨ Your Turn: Next time you’re faced with criticism, try this Emotional Reset. Before reacting, ask yourself these three reframing questions. What’s your go-to strategy for handling tough feedback? Drop a comment below! ⬇️ #DrAmin #CRAVELeadership #NeuroLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutivePresence #EmotionalIntelligence #FeedbackCulture

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Want to know how feedback can turn a good marketing campaign into a GREAT one? As a small business owner, you're often wearing many hats, and suddenly, you're expected to be an ad guy/gal pro, too. The secret? It's all in the art of creative feedback. After a lifetime in marketing, here's a tip from my experience: Feedback is a delicate dance. It's not just about what you say; it's how you say it. Let's dive in with a few tips: 🌟 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗲. A positive note can light up the room. "The energy in this design is infectious." can really set the stage. 🔍 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰. Swap "This isn't working" with "The message gets lost in the font size. Let's try bumping it up." 💡 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Engage the team with questions like "What inspired this approach?" or "How do you think this resonates with our target audience?" 📈 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. Help the team understand the bigger picture. "This aligns well with our brand voice, but how can we make it more engaging?" 🗣 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. Encourage an open dialogue. "Let's brainstorm some ideas on how to enhance this further." 🔄 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽. Revisit the feedback after changes are made. "The revised version really pops! Can we apply the same treatment to our other materials?" Remember: - 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰. Think audience-first. - 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 "𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀" 𝗼𝗿 "𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿." Marketing isn't a one-size-fits-all. - 𝗩𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁. Offer clear direction, like "What if our call-to-action stood out more with a bolder color?" Now, tell me about your experience. How has your feedback transformed a project?                                                 ********************** 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰, our workshop on the power of personal and business branding. September 24 from 8:30 to noon CST at the Horizon Photography studio in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston, IL. Follow Susan Tyson and Jennifer Schuman. Activate notifications (click the🔔 in the upper left of our profiles) to stay updated.                                                 ********************* 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗲: With over 40 years of experience in the marketing industry, I specialize in helping owners of small businesses to achieve their marketing goals with tailored solutions that drive growth and success.