Embracing Feedback as a Leader

As a leader, you are probably used to giving feedback to your team. But what about receiving feedback yourself? Throughout the course of a busy day, you may not stop to give yourself time to absorb what people are sharing with you. Let’s discuss how you can embrace feedback and use it to your advantage.

First off, because you’re in a leadership role, many people may not feel comfortable offering feedback. So create a safe space for folks to feel comfortable enough to do so. For example, set aside time at team meetings to ask team members what helped them succeed or what they learned from a recent project or initiative. Specific examples will give you insights into how you were able to assist them...or not.

Strengthen your knowledge and skills by proactively inviting feedback from internal and external stakeholders. Take time to speak to different people at different levels of your organizations. Feedback can come from peers, your manager, direct reports, or other managers. Be clear about what you’re asking for. For example, are you looking for feedback about your role as a negotiator? Remember, vague questions will produce unhelpful answers. 

Listen and don’t be defensive. Take a pause and ask yourself, “what can I learn from this?” Ask for examples of what and how you can improve. The key here is to actually value feedback and do something with it. If you ask for feedback and people don’t feel any change, it begins to lose value. 

Take action by doing and practice to improve. This shows your team that you’re open to learning, which helps to create a learning culture. Keep people in the loop, especially those who gave you feedback. Explain how their suggestions have helped you. Finally, always focus on your own development. As you grow, you can help others grow as well. This is an important part of a leader’s role; so don’t minimize the importance of your own development.

As leaders, it's our responsibility to foster an environment where team members feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas. Encourage open dialogue, listen actively, and show appreciation for those who speak up – even if it's to challenge the status quo. If you found this helpful, the Giraffe app is packed with resources and tools to help you communicate better, embrace feedback, and build better teams at work. You can request a demo here.

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