How to Give Actionable Feedback That Drives Growth and Performance
Great leaders understand that feedback isn’t just about pointing out mistakes, it’s about helping people grow and develop. The most effective feedback isn’t vague or critical; it’s clear, meaningful, and actionable. When done well, it creates an enthusiasm for feedback and coaching. This is how a coaching culture is born.
Feedback must be an ongoing conversation, not just something reserved for performance reviews. You want your team to feel valued, challenged, supported, and energized, creating a culture where they see feedback as a tool for growth, not a punishment. Dan Rockwell highlights this in his article Leading Feelings During One on Ones. While he is speaking to it in the one-on-one meeting sense, the idea of the same outcomes while providing feedback and coaching applies.
Let’s look at how you can provide actionable feedback to your team to create personal growth and continued performance improvement.
The Purpose of Feedback: Helping Others Improve
Many leaders give feedback only as an evaluation. It is a way to tell employees where they stand. Too often, this still only occurs during formal sessions each quarter, or worse, once a year. But real feedback isn’t about judgment; it’s about guidance and support. The goal is to help employees feel at ease with receiving feedback, and get better at what they are doing each day.
Leaders who shift their mindset from giving (formal) feedback to (ongoing) coaching through observation and discussion set their employees up for success. Feedback should never be about catching mistakes; it should be about unlocking potential. Effective coaching still has a foundation in Ken Blanchard’s idea of ‘managing by walking around.’
The 4 Key Elements of Actionable Feedback
Keep these four ideas in mind as you prepare for providing feedback:
Clarity – Be specific and direct. Avoid vague phrases like “You need to be more engaged” and instead provide concrete examples of behaviors and expectations. An example of that may be, “during meetings, ask questions to spur further conversation and understanding. Share your opinions, they mean a lot to others.”
Relevance – Ensure feedback is tied to the employee’s role, goals, and responsibilities.
Actionability – Make sure the person knows exactly what they can do differently or improve moving forward.
Future-Oriented Approach – Research suggests that when feedback focuses on future improvement rather than past mistakes, it boosts motivation and engagement. Criticism of past behavior often triggers defensiveness, while goal-oriented feedback inspires action. 1
These all lead to generating a ‘why’ for the information being provided and how it can help in your performance and overall growth in your role.
Leading with Feelings: How Feedback Impacts Engagement
Initially, most people don’t remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel. If you continue to provide information that is supportive in nature and helps them feel better about themselves, their work, and their future, they will listen to more of what you are saying. This is a two-way street, which is built on trust over time. It will also require a level of vulnerability on your part. Receiving feedback, especially in leadership positions can feel scary. The more you show that you benefit from feedback from your team, the more they will welcome and embrace what you are sharing with them. In sharing your feedback, if you can leave them feeling these four things, your impact will be far more meaningful and wide-reaching:
Valued – They know their contributions matter. (I can make a difference)
Challenged – They see areas for growth and improvement. (I know I have more to offer.)
Supported – They feel encouraged rather than criticized. (My boss wants to see me be successful.)
Energized – They leave the conversation excited to take action. (I am ready to make changes to improve or learn new things.)
When feedback makes people feel defensive, embarrassed, or undervalued, it loses its effectiveness. The key is to balance honesty with encouragement, providing feedback in a way that inspires rather than discourages.
Using the SBI Model for Structured Feedback
Developed by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), one of the most effective ways to structure feedback is through the SBI Model:
Situation – Describe when and where the activity or behavior occurred.
Behavior – Concentrate on the specific action or behavior observed.
Impact – Explain how the behavior affected others or the business.
For example:
Instead of saying “You need to speak up more in meetings,” try:
“In our last two team meetings (situation), I noticed you didn’t contribute to the discussion (behavior). Your perspective would have added valuable insights to the conversation (impact).”
This method ensures feedback is objective, as well as, constructive. Plus, it is tied to meaningful improvement.
Enabling a Feedback Culture
As previously mentioned, feedback should be happening all the time, not reserved for reviews or more formal discussions. Fostering an environment where feedback and coaching occurs naturally can be enabled through:
Share feedback frequently – The best feedback happens in the moment, not months later.
Model openness – Encourage employees to give you feedback as well, creating a two-way dialogue. Feedback and coaching is NOT a one-way street. Leaders must be open, and ask for feedback on how they can improve as well.
Balance positive and constructive feedback – Recognition is just as important as correction. People need to know what they’re doing well so they can keep doing it. Feedback and coaching are NOT synonymous with ‘corrective’ behavior. Coaching on positive activities to reinforce it for the future is a great way to provide feedback as well.
Encourage self-reflection – Feedback shouldn’t be one-sided. Ask employees, “What do you think went well? What would you do differently next time?” In fact, I would recommend you start there. Let them go first. I have had many highly productive conversations and coaching sessions that started with the team member saying what they thought went well and what they could improve. You might be surprised how little you have to say when you let them go first.
By making regular feedback just what you do, you will have an environment where everyone is working together to help make themselves better. Everyone can be a coach. Peer to peer feedback is an excellent sign of a feedback driven and coaching culture. Everyone can learn from others. Together, the team will be stronger.
Bringing It All Together
Feedback is about empowerment, not correction. When leaders provide feedback that is clear, relevant, actionable, and future-focused, they create a culture of growth and continuous improvement. By leading feedback with feelings of value, challenge, support, and energy, leaders ensure that their employees don’t just hear the feedback, they embrace it and act on it. And when feedback becomes a habit rather than an event, it transforms workplaces into spaces where people don’t just work, they grow.
If you’re looking to take your feedback skills to the next level, explore additional resources like Coaching Through Positive Feedback — 5 Ways to Succeed, The Real Value of Evaluation is What You Do With It, and How to Give Effective Feedback.
What steps will you take to level up your feedback for growth and performance?
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