Day 4: Mastering Feedback for Effective Leadership
Be Better Engineering Leader, a 30 Days Series
This is the first week of a series of daily lessons on how to Be a Better Engineering Leader. I recommend spending up to an hour on each lesson to gain insights into Product, Technology, and People—areas critical for every Engineering Manager.
As an engineering leader, the absence of feedback doesn’t mean everything is perfect; it often means your team doesn't feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. Your role requires both giving and receiving feedback to foster a culture of openness, growth, and continuous improvement. Let’s break down how to make this a reality in your daily leadership practice.
Key Concepts
Recognize the Power Dynamic: Your title alone can make people hesitant to speak up. Being aware of this dynamic is the first step towards mitigating its impact.
Create a Safe Space: Demonstrate that feedback is not only welcome but expected. Encourage your team to voice their opinions, even when they disagree with you.
Integrate Feedback as a Habit: Develop a consistent feedback process within your team culture, using frameworks that resonate with your team's dynamics.
Act and Follow-Up: The most crucial step is to act on the feedback and close the loop. Always follow up with your team on what changes you’ve implemented or why some suggestions weren’t feasible. This shows respect and encourages future transparency.
Feedback 101: Getting Started
First Ask: Schedule a brief, dedicated time to ask your team for feedback. It could be in a 1:1 or team meeting. Expect initial responses to be vague, like "everything's fine" or "9/10."
Ask Again: This time, you might hear more critical feedback, like "this meeting was unclear" or "I don't understand the direction." This is progress—people are beginning to trust you.
Public Acknowledgment: Share this feedback with the team. Explain what you’re doing to address it. This shows that you're taking their input seriously and are committed to improvement.
Action Points
Incorporate Feedback into Meetings
End each meeting with a quick, anonymous feedback session. For example, use hand voting: 1 - the meeting was unproductive, 5 - it was very productive. Ask follow-up questions based on the results, like “What could we improve for next time?”
Implement one suggested change immediately, even if it's small. This demonstrates responsiveness.
Establish a Structured Feedback Mechanism
Use simple tools like Google Forms for a quarterly or semi-annual anonymous survey. Keep it short—focus on key areas like your support as a leader, team processes, and communication clarity.
After collecting responses, share a summary with the team and outline specific actions you plan to take based on the feedback received.
Use 1:1s as a Feedback Foundation
Start every 1:1 by checking in on how your direct report feels about recent projects or decisions. Give them space to express concerns and ideas.
Be vulnerable and ask for their feedback on your leadership style. For example, “What could I do differently to help you succeed?”
Feedback for All: Build a 360-Degree Culture
Introduce a culture of peer-to-peer feedback during retrospectives and post-mortems. Encourage team members to evaluate meetings and processes openly.
Use a simple rule: feedback should be specific, actionable, and focused on behaviors, not personalities.
Resources for Deep Dive
Premium Article: Mastering the Feedback - An in-depth guide with practical tips for engineering leaders.
Cheat Sheet: Mastering the Feedback - Cheat Sheet PDF - A quick reference for effective feedback strategies.
Recommended Reading: Radical Candor by Kim Scott – A guide to giving and receiving feedback with empathy and directness.
Closing Thoughts
Effective feedback is a powerful tool for growth and improvement. By actively seeking feedback and being open to it, you not only improve yourself but also empower your team to contribute to a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Start small, be consistent, and make feedback a regular part of your leadership practice. The more your team sees you acting on their input, the more willing they will be to share it.
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I find this article insightful, so I want to give feedback for each article separately and not for all the Better Engineering Leader, but I couldn’t do it, once I voted for the first article I can’t vote for the rest.