Facilitating Feedback in Leadership Development Programs

Session 4 of FCPA’s Leadership Development Program, we explored one of the most important and most challenging leadership competencies: giving and receiving feedback. Whether you are a manager, supervisor, or individual contributor, feedback sits at the heart of your growth. It shapes performance, strengthens relationships, and is often the key differentiator between leaders who thrive and those who struggle with interpersonal effectiveness. Yet despite its importance, many of us still wrestle with how to give feedback well and how to receive it with openness and grace. 🎯One of our core messages during the session was this: Feedback is information. Not “positive.” Not “negative.” Not “good” or “bad.”. It’s information that helps us understand what to stop, start, and continue and ultimately how others experience us. As participants reflected on their comfort levels and shared their own experiences, we aligned on a few essential truths: 1. Feedback is a gift: When we withhold it, we deny others the opportunity to grow, improve, and succeed. 2. How you give feedback matters: We practiced using the Situation–Behavior–Impact–Intent model from the Center for Creative Leadership a simple, powerful tool for delivering feedback that is clear, specific, and timely. 3. Remember the feedback principle: 80% honest, 20% kind: Honesty without kindness is harsh. Kindness without honesty is unhelpful. Both matter. 4. Always ask permission: May I share an observation with you?:It creates psychological safety and ensures the person is ready to hear what you have to say. 5. Check your motives and your biases: Feedback should serve the person and the work, not your emotions or assumptions. 6. Always say thank you: Even when the feedback is hard to hear. Even if you don’t agree. Gratitude keeps the door open for more learning. 7. Relationships matter: Where trust lives, feedback can flourish. And the higher up you go in an organization, the less feedback you receive which means many leaders are walking around unaware of blind spots that are limiting their impact. If you’re not receiving feedback, ask for it: What is one thing I could do differently that would make working with me easier? We closed the session with one of my favorite reminders from #AdamGrant: “The point of giving feedback is not to make people feel good today. It’s to help them do better tomorrow. Tell people what they NEED to hear, not what they WANT to hear.” And anchored with a powerful thought from the #CCL: “The only way to know what someone intended is to ask them and the only way to let a person know their impact is to tell them.” I’m proud of this cohort for leaning into vulnerability, practicing these conversations, and committing to creating a stronger culture of feedback across FCPA. That willingness to grow and to help others grow , is what leadership is truly about. #leadershipdevelopment #feedbackculture #OD #talentdevelopment #FCPA #learninganddevelopment #managertraining

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🗣️ Ever feel like your Learning and Development (L&D) programs are missing the mark? You're not alone. One of the biggest pitfalls in L&D is the lack of mechanisms for collecting and acting on employee feedback. Without this crucial component, your initiatives may fail to address the real needs and preferences of your team, leaving them disengaged and underprepared. 📌 And here's the kicker—if you ignore this, your L&D efforts risk becoming irrelevant, wasting valuable resources, and ultimately failing to develop the skills your workforce truly needs. But don't worry—there’s a straightforward fix: integrate feedback loops into your L&D programs. Here’s a clear plan to get started: 📝 Surveys and Questionnaires: Regularly distribute surveys and questionnaires to gather insights on what’s working and what isn’t. Keep them short and focused to maximize response rates and actionable feedback. 📝 Focus Groups: Organize small focus groups to dive deeper into specific issues. This setting allows for more detailed discussions and nuanced understanding of employee needs and preferences. 📝 Real-Time Polling: Use real-time polling tools during training sessions to gauge immediate reactions and make on-the-fly adjustments. This keeps the learning experience dynamic and responsive. 📝 One-on-One Interviews: Conduct one-on-one interviews with a diverse cross-section of employees to get a more personal and detailed perspective. This can uncover insights that broader surveys might miss. 📝 Anonymous Feedback Channels: Ensure there are anonymous ways for employees to provide feedback. This encourages honesty and helps identify issues that employees might be hesitant to discuss openly. 📝 Feedback Integration: Don’t just collect feedback—act on it. Regularly review the feedback and make necessary adjustments to your L&D programs. Communicate these changes to employees to show that their input is valued and acted upon. 📝 Continuous Monitoring: Use analytics tools to continuously monitor engagement and performance metrics. This provides ongoing data to help refine and improve your L&D initiatives. Integrating these feedback mechanisms will not only enhance the effectiveness of your L&D programs but also boost employee engagement and satisfaction. When employees see that their feedback leads to tangible changes, they are more likely to be invested in the learning process. Have any innovative ways to incorporate feedback into L&D? Drop your tips in the comments! ⬇️ #LearningAndDevelopment #EmployeeEngagement #ContinuousImprovement #FeedbackLoop #ProfessionalDevelopment #TrainingInnovation

A core leadership skill? Giving feedback that’s clear, honest, and direct. Most leaders know this, and can articulate why it matters and what the benefits are. And yet… many still struggle to do it. Just this week alone, I’ve coached several leaders wrestling with this exact challenge. The reasons vary: — They feel ill-equipped to deliver it — They fear the receiver’s reaction — They’re unsure how direct is too direct — They lack clarity on what to say—or a structure for how to say it When those moments arise, I offer a simple, practical framework to equip leaders to prepare and deliver feedback with candor and care. Here are the 5 steps I share: 1. Clarify the Purpose Why does this conversation matter—for the person, the team, or the business? 2. Ground in Facts and Impact Focus on what you’ve observed, what’s expected, and the impact of the gap. 3. Structure the Message Use a short, direct script that communicates both expectations and support. 4. Prepare for Reactions Think ahead about how the other person may respond—and how you’ll stay grounded. 5. Align on Next Steps Set clear expectations for what needs to change, and agree on how progress will be tracked. Giving feedback isn’t about being harsh—it’s about being responsible. And when done right, it builds trust, not tension. What’s your go-to strategy for direct feedback that actually works? How do you overcome the fear and discomfort that comes with offering constructive input? #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #managerskills #radicalcandor

Leaders who avoid hard feedback aren’t protecting their people, they are setting them up to fail. Feedback is one of the most powerful tools we have in leadership but it’s also one of the most misused. Because leaders confuse compassion with avoidance, softening the truth until it loses all usefulness, or withholding it altogether under the guise of kindness. Compassionate feedback is about caring enough to be honest, in a way that allows other people to hear it. At APS Intelligence, we use a framework for compassionate feedback, designed to ensure that even difficult messages are delivered with clarity and respect: 1. Frame the feedback - Start by recognising effort and value to create psychological safety and remind people their work is seen and appreciated. 2. Ask permission - Feedback lands better when people feel like they have agency. Asking “Can I talk to you about something I’ve noticed?” is, as Dr. Shelby Hill says, a gentle knock on the door of someone’s psyche instead of barging in. 3. Be precise and objective - Describe what you’ve observed, not your interpretation of it. Feedback should focus on behaviour, not character. 4. Explain the impact - Share how the behaviour affects others or the work. Clarity about consequences builds accountability without blame. 5. Stay curious and open - Avoid assumptions. Ask questions that invite dialogue and understanding, not defence. 6. Collaborate on next steps - Offer support, not ultimatums. Feedback should be a shared problem to solve instead of a burden to bear. 7. End with perspective - Reaffirm their strengths and remind them that one issue does not define their value. Compassionate feedback allows honesty and humanity to coexist. It ensures that when people walk away, they feel respected, even if the message was hard to hear. This is a framework we use often at APS Intelligence. You can book a tailored workshop for your people managers or leadership cohorts to explore this further.

Last week, a mentee came to me after her annual review. Her feedback was good — specific enough to sting a little. She walked out with every intention of acting on it. I asked her one question: "What's different on your calendar this week?" She paused. Nothing was different. That's where feedback dies — not in the reading of it, but in the week after, when life resumes and the document closes. Understanding feedback and acting on it are two completely different skills. Most people only practice one. Here's what I told her to do instead: 𝟭/ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 "Be more strategic" tells you nothing. This does: take the project you're leading and present how it accelerates a priority your organization cares about — before your next leadership meeting. Specific. Timely. Actionable. For every piece of feedback, ask: what does this look like in practice? 𝟮/ 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 If it doesn't make it into your goals, it's not going to happen. Don't create a separate "development item" that lives outside your work — embed it into the goal itself or into how you'll achieve it. If the feedback is "delegate more and develop your team," don't just note it. Update your existing goal to: 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘟 𝘣𝘺 𝘘3, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. Same goal. The feedback is now inside it. 𝟯/ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 Your calendar is your priorities made visible. If the change you need to make doesn't appear there, it won't happen. If the feedback is "scale your impact by partnering across the organization," don't wait for opportunities to show up. Schedule 1:1s this week with leaders in adjacent teams to learn their priorities. What's on your calendar next Monday tells you more about your intentions than anything you wrote in your development plan. 𝟰/ 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 Share what you're working on with a peer, a mentor, or your manager. Not for accountability theater — because saying it out loud makes it real. And it invites the micro-feedback you'll need along the way. 𝟱/ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝟵𝟬-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 Not "am I trying harder?" — what's actually different in what you do? If the answer is nothing, the feedback is already expiring. The annual review is a gift. Most people open it, admire it, and put it back in the box. If nothing changes in what you do, the outcome is likely to be the same. What’s one change you’ve actually put on your calendar this year? PS: If you know someone in the middle of their review cycle — send this their way. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for weekly Leadership and Career posts

Most leaders avoid feedback conversations because they fear what might break. But what if the real risk is what you'll never build? According to Gallup, 80% of employees who receive meaningful feedback on a weekly basis are fully engaged (2019). Yet 37% of leaders admit they're uncomfortable giving feedback to their teams. That silence isn't kindness. It's career sabotage. I discovered this while coaching a brilliant VP who avoided giving feedback for 6 months. His reasoning? "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings." Meanwhile, his team was stuck in a loop of repeated mistakes, missed growth, and mounting frustration. The quiet cost of silence was crushing their potential. The truth? Feedback delayed is development denied. Here's the T.R.U.S.T.™ Feedback Framework I teach my executive clients: 1/ Time it right → 60% of employees want feedback weekly → But 39% wait over three months to hear anything → Create a rhythm, not just reactions to problems 2/ Real, not rehearsed → "In yesterday's client call, I noticed..." → Specific moments create specific growth → Vague praise and vague criticism both waste time 3/ Understand the person → Different team members need different approaches → Some need direct words, others need gentle questions → Personalize delivery, not just content 4/ Safe to receive → Ask "What support do you need with this?" → Make feedback a conversation, not a verdict → This transforms defensiveness into development 5/ Two-way street → End with "What feedback do you have for me?" → Your willingness to receive transforms your right to give → This builds feedback culture, not just compliance The most powerful leaders build teams where truth flows freely in all directions. Because when feedback feels like genuine care, not criticism, performance soars. What feedback conversation have you been avoiding that could unlock someone's potential? 📌 Save this framework for your next growth conversation ➕ Follow Loren Rosario - Maldonado, PCC for human leadership

COIN: A Simple Yet Powerful Model for Effective Feedback Clear, constructive conversations are the foundation of a thriving workplace. As HR professionals, we know that how we deliver feedback can make all the difference; whether coaching employees, facilitating performance discussions, or navigating tough conversations. That’s why I love the COIN model: a structured yet flexible approach that turns feedback into a growth opportunity rather than a point of tension. → C - Connect, Give Context: Set the stage. What happened? What’s the background? Acknowledging lived experiences, values, and needs creates a shared understanding. → O - Observations: Stick to specific, objective observations. What do you see? What are your thoughts and beliefs? Encouraging open dialogue builds trust and alignment. → I - Impact on Self/Others/Situation: Explore the effects of the situation. How has it influenced you, the team, or the organization? Identifying gaps, concerns, or emotions adds depth to the conversation. → N - Next Steps: Turn insights into action. What’s the desired outcome? Explore solutions, set expectations, and create agreements for moving forward. I’ve seen firsthand how COIN transforms feedback from something people dread into a tool for growth and collaboration. When feedback is structured and intentional, it becomes a catalyst for real change. HR leaders, managers, and professionals: how do you approach feedback? Have you used the COIN model before? Let’s discuss! 👇 #HR #Leadership #Feedback #GrowthMindset #WorkplaceCulture #COINModel #HRBestPractices

Being nicer won’t fix your feedback problem. Neither will being harsh. Because the issue isn't your message. It's your framework. Behavior correction needs a different approach than positive reinforcement. Coaching conversations require a different structure than performance reviews. Here are the 6 frameworks that turn feedback into development opportunities: 1️⃣ PREP: For Behavior Correction Point → Reason → Example → Point State what needs to change. Explain why it matters. Give proof.  Restate what needs to change. "Client emails need 24-hour response. When it takes days, we risk deals. The client escalated after 5 days of silence. Same-day or next-day response going forward." 2️⃣ BOOST: For Positive Reinforcement Behavior-focused → Observable → Specific → Timely Not this: "Great presentation." This: "You opened with revenue impact, then gave 3 clear options with trade-offs. That helped the board decide fast. Do that every time." Tell them what to repeat. 3️⃣ GROW: For Coaching Conversations Goal → Reality → Options → Will What do they want to achieve? Where are they now? What could they try? What will they commit to? Ask, don't tell. Your job is to guide their thinking. 4️⃣ CEDAR: For Difficult Feedback Context → Examples → Diagnosis → Action → Review "Three Q4 deliverables came in late. This pattern is impacting the team's ability to plan. If you can't meet a deadline, I need 48 hours' notice. We'll review in 2 weeks." Name the pattern. Set clear expectations. Follow up. 5️⃣ FEED: For Real-Time Feedback Facts → Effects → Expectations → Development "You interrupted twice in that meeting. The client couldn't finish, so we missed information. Let them complete their answer. This builds your listening skills." Immediate feedback = immediate behavior change. 6️⃣ SBI: For Trust-Building Feedback Situation → Behavior → Impact "In today's meeting, you credited the design team for the win. That built trust and showed you share credit." Separate observation from interpretation. These frameworks work because leaders stop avoiding hard conversations, Teams know exactly what success looks like. And the business performance improves because feedback actually changes behavior. If your people know you care about their growth, they'll receive tough feedback as a gift. If they sense you're checking a box, no framework will save you. So start with one framework. Master it. Then add the next. And watch your team's confidence, performance, and trust in your leadership grow. If you want the complete system for difficult conversations and feedback that builds trust while driving performance... LeaderOS, my Leadership Accelerator, breaks down everything. The frameworks, the delivery, the timing, and the follow-through. Secure your spot here: https://bit.ly/TheLeaderOS ♻️ Repost this for leaders who need better feedback frameworks. And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for leadership systems that develop leaders and teams.

🌟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 🌟 Essential Models for Every Situation: Great leaders don’t guess - they listen, reflect, and grow. This post shares powerful models to deliver leadership feedback effectively in every situation - correction, reinforcement, coaching, reviews, and 360° development. 𝗖𝗢𝗜𝗡 – For Behavior Correction When specific behavior correction is needed, the COIN model offers clarity: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 – Where and when the behavior occurred. 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – What behavior was observed. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 – What were the effects. 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 – What actions are suggested. → Use COIN to ensure feedback is focused, actionable, and change-oriented. 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗧 – For Positive Reinforcement, Don’t just correct - celebrate! 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 – Mix positive and constructive notes. 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – Base it on what was seen. 𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 – Describe clearly. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 – Name the behavior. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆 – Deliver soon after the event. → BOOST builds confidence and growth faster. 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗪 – For Coaching Conversations, Help others find their own path with this coaching model: 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟𝗦: What do they want? 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: What’s the current state? 𝗢𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦: What can be done? 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟: What will they commit to? → Shift from boss to facilitator. 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗 – For Constructive Impact, Feedback for growth, not demotivation: 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: What was observed? 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: What were the impacts? 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: What was expected? 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: What needs to change? → Effective for bridging performance gaps with empathy. 𝗖𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗥 – For Performance Review, Structure your reviews with this 5-step framework: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 – Purpose and timing. 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 – Use real observations. 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀 – Uncover strengths and issues. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Plan steps for growth. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 – Track and celebrate milestones. → Make reviews actionable, not annual rituals. 𝟯𝟲𝟬° 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 – The Holistic View, Effective feedback comes from every angle: 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 → Great leaders invite feedback from all directions to grow intentionally. Which feedback model have you used most often? What’s the hardest part about giving honest feedback? Would you want 360° feedback in your role? Why / why not? #Comment, #Like 👍 #Follow and #Share ♻ this post, if you found it valuable! 👉 Follow Imran Yousaf for more content like this. #Leadership | #LeadershipDevelopment | #FeedbackModels | #360Leadership | #CoachMindset | #GrowthCulture

If you’re in L&D and trying to improve manager effectiveness, here’s a zero-cost lever you should probably invest more time in: building stronger feedback loops across the organization. Even mid-quality feedback, delivered often, drives more growth than most training programs because feedback creates learning velocity. Picture a simple learning flywheel: Practice → Feedback → Reflect → Adjust → Better Practice When managers do the work of managing they pick up on signals from teams, peers, and leaders; then they make sense of what happened and adjust. And then they do it all over again. Ray Dalio captured the dynamic even more simply: Pain + Reflection = Progress. The discomfort of honest feedback isn’t a bug in the system, it's the signal that learning is happening. In strong organizations, feedback is not a once-a-year ritual buried inside a performance review. It is a designed input to everyday work and when that feedback flywheel is spinning, something interesting happens. Feedback becomes fuel for growth. For L&D leaders looking to strengthen the feedback cylinder of the manager enablement engine, a few design moves help: 1️⃣ Increase the quantity of feedback managers receive from teams and peers 2️⃣ Create short reflection loops so feedback turns into learning 3️⃣ Provide safe places to practice feedback conversations before they happen for real Manager development doesn’t accelerate when content improves, it accelerates when the feedback flywheel starts spinning. Read my full interview with Offbeat on building manager enablement systems here → https://lnkd.in/e9HXSXXh #managerenablementengine