What are the most common feedback challenges for senior leaders?

One things I've found helpful is purposely getting out of my office or connecting online or phone with people you don't see day to day. If you are in a office building with cubicles, get out and walk around, stop by and say hello, interact, ask them what they are working on, be interested and thankful for what they are do. The end result is they appreciate your effort and you often learn some very important things that can help the entire organization grow and improve. Team!

The biggest challenge is giving feedback to someone about an issue they didn’t see first hand. Two things leaders can do to navigate this challenge are: 1) Request that individuals provide the feedback directly or in unison with the leader. 2) Introduce the feedback and say that you need their perspectives to better understand the situation. Lead with questions to understand their views and then ask questions so they can be active participants in the solution.

Getting unadulterated feedback becomes a challenge with senior leadership positions. I go out of my way to get feedback from several perspectives, two layers down even and try to stitch a picture of what we are confronted with. I also find it helpful to ask from people outside the organization to give me their thoughts and balance it with what the internal stakeholders are saying.

The first thing is to "keep with it". Leadership is an ever-changing kaleidoscope. Even in the most successful organisations, one day you may be on a total high and the next, you may feel things are fragile - as someone once said, "treat those two impostors both the same". Best advice is to have multiple routes for feedback: seek out the constructive nay-sayers and the "tell it as it is" folk; get out from behind the desk or the screen and go and see people and listen to what they don't say as much as what they do; get periodic 360s; make sure your team is not packed with mini-me appointments.....Most of us know these things - we just have to work hard to learn from them.

A lot of weight is placed on the leader/manager (giver of the feedback) to 'get it right'. It is of course important that givers of feedback develop the skills needed to open up learning and growth opportunities for direct reports and in team environments. However, I would like organisations to place the same importance on developing the receivers skills - how they listen, how they respond, what they take away as learning and developmental goals. This would go someway to breaking down the tensions, and enable real conversations to take place - improving engagement, productivity and career enhancing learning aims.

As people move up into leadership levels in organizations, it becomes more difficult to get honest and meaningful feedback. For one thing, fewer people are willing to risk giving difficult feedback to people above them in the structure and often feedback is met with defensiveness, denial, or resistance. Early in my career, a mentor told me to treat feedback, especially from people who reported to me, as a true gift. It usually takes courage to give and if not appreciated, it won’t be given again. I look back at many of these gifts as positive turning points in my career, even if they were challenging at the time. They helped me become more self aware and increased my leadership skills and my effectiveness.

We can broadly classify leaders into two groups The ones who don't take any feedback seriously as they are neither aware or accept such improvement feedback.Despite being vulnerable they are in a denial mode always & are unable to correct themselves. On the other hand, the ones who are curious about the feedback spend a lot of time overcoming the weaknesses. Such ones enhance their qualities & lead by example.

Consistency and specificity when requesting feedback and following up publicly on the feedback are challenges senior leaders face. Whenever leaders proactively and broadly share how they have followed up on feedback, it invites psychological safety into the environment for more people to proactively share their feedback with the leader.

From my perspective, fostering emotional intelligence is equally crucial. It aids senior leaders in managing defensive responses and understanding feedback objectively rather than personally. In my experience, cultivating empathy can greatly enhance this skill set. Leaders must remember, it's not merely about knowing how to receive feedback, but understanding how to act on it.

Recognizing there is more than one way to achieve the outcomes you seek will help leaders take better perspective in giving and receiving feedback. Leaders: 1)Your way is not the only way, 2)Two people can be good at the same thing-even coming from different perspectives. 3) If you think you have nothing to learn, you’re in trouble.

The main barriers to being able to give feedback that is acceptable are 1. Lack of clear goals and expectations When these are ambiguous, they are open to interpretation, thereby leading to disagreement or dispute over who is right or wrong 2. Lack of trust If there is no trust in the giver of the feedback, then all communication let alone feedback is viewed as a personal attack 3. Lack of emotional intelligence When the giver demonstrates poor emotional intelligence, it derails the feedback. Receiving feedback is a highly emotional process and understanding and addressing this aspect is critical 4. Lack of process When feedback is given in an ad hoc and immediate manner, it is taken negatively and causes harm

As leader at C-level, the information / insights / feedback you get is often packed nicely (and not complete). Break through it by going out more, and talk more with the front line staff / sales forces. That is the only thing that help you to get the full picture of your business.

People want feedback as quickly and as soon as possible. The sooner you can tell someone they are off mark, or doing well, the quicker you drive your team to achieve ideal behaviours and skills that drive results.

I think as we mature, we assume we still have the skills we learned when we were younger. But unless we practice, we lose our skills. Giving/receiving feedback is a skill that we need to continuously practice and there is nothing wrong with asking someone to role-play with you so you can practice giving what may be perceived as negative feedback.

Feedback is love. You give it because you care. This motive must be understood by all involved. Having a structured, repeatable delivery approach is essential for the person giving and receiving the feedback. - As a leader you model the behaviour you value. - Don’t only critique, praise is valuable feedback too. - Recipients will become accustomed to the format and see it coming. We want this! - Don’t unload feedback. Less is more. - Don’t encourage an immediate response. We need to let the feedback sink in. - Make time for feedback, don’t do it in the last 2 minutes of your 1-1. - Language and tone matter. Use a tone that reflects your concern or motive for giving the feedback. - Finally, give it regularly and ask for feedback.

When it comes to synthesizing feedback at the senior level, you need to have a trusted group of “truth tellers” that can help you not only assess the quality and accuracy of feedback but also help you contextualize it. That means building a trusted group of people at all levels, not just your peers or N-1s. It’s essential that these individuals not only are tuned into the pulse of the organization but aren’t afraid to tell you things you may not necessarily want to hear. Keep in mind that finding these individuals and building the kind of relationship required takes time, so remember you’re playing the long game. Don’t expect to pull a random group together off-the-cuff and get honest and candid insight into feedback.

Requesting feedback the organization can act upon is key to avoiding overload. Often asking too many questions via survey creates an atmosphere of expected change that's unachievable. Ask about the top issues you see and can work on and have an open ended forum for other concerns to make sure you aren't inadvertently overlooking a big problem. Have skip-jump meetings to get direct feedback in the areas of concern. Then, talk about what you're able to work on and what your doing directly with employees, recognizing addressing other concerns is still being considered. Then, ask for the team's suport.

When you are overwhelmed by feedback 1. Check it for themes, and there may be a thread running through the feedback that you can work on, such as ‘communication’ 2. Notice what will have the biggest impact for the audience that matters most to you 3. Plan on how to work on the feedback in the short, medium and long term - you don’t have to do it all right away. Lastly you could share you feedback and invite people to only share feedback if it’s additive rather than repetitive

Leaders will receive feedback from all stake holders, my take is as under; 1. Differentiate points as impact suggestions, general information & relevant observations. 2. Work on top impact suggestions 3 Prioritize as per what is relevant for radical change 4. Review the execute to get better performance. Once you practice above, you will ensure you give few feedback in moderation but with high content.

Avoiding feedback overload is crucial to ensure that feedback remains effective and does not become overwhelming for team members. Prioritize Feedback: Focus on the most critical feedback that is directly related to your team's and individual's goals and performance. Avoid the temptation to provide feedback on every minor issue. Limit the Number of Focus Areas: When providing constructive feedback, focus on a limited number of areas for improvement. Overloading someone with multiple critical issues at once can be counterproductive. Link Feedback to Goals: Ensure that your feedback is directly tied to the individual's goals and the team's objectives. This alignment gives feedback a clear purpose and relevance.

This aspect of feedback may be the most critical. Failing to recognize, address or act upon feedback can instill a lack of trust from those who have provided genuine perspectives. A simple acknowledgement, a thank you or explanation of how the leader will apply feedback can build team members trust and motivation. "Hey someone is listening to me!" And, we all want to be heard.

Perspective, both mine and the younger folks. When I was young, I thought I knew everything. Now, at age 73, I feel like I should give my salary back to anyone who hired me when I was under thirty. I think I was a henderance, not a help. I also can't relate to young people today. What they consider a tragedy, I laugh at. Although I didn't join the military until I was much older, today I am in favor of mandatory two years' service for eighteeen year olds. I think that would go a long way towards developing maturity, which seems to be occuring later and later in the younger folks.

Another obligation always pushes the solicitation of feedback down the to-do list. Those tasks or events allow the burnishing of one's image; feedback invites the potential opposite effect.

Creating a feedback action plan can be done through prioritizing the most important themes where the leader and the team can make a tangible impact. Some feedback can't be actioned, therefore organizing and creating a communication plan around this group of feedback is important. Narrowing down the list to the highest priority actionable items can help ensure an action plan can be carried out. Set quarterly goals and measurements. Report progress to employees throughout the organization.

As a leader, openly sharing with your team the feedback you've received about your own personal development areas can be incredibly powerful in demonstrating how much you value them providing it, increase the likelihood that they will do it again, and help you feel more accountable to acting on it. I remember a senior leader sharing their 360 performance review with me, which inspired me to do the same with my team.

One of the biggest challenges for senior leaders has to do with physical barriers. Senior managers and supervisors often have their own offices with support staff positioned outside the door (who might behave as “gatekeepers”). While it is important to have some degree of separation from the churn and activity in the office, it also inhibits two-way communication and feedback. Leaders must deliberately look for ways to reduce the separation between themselves and their team. Make time to walk the floor and engage with people. Set up lunches or informal meetings with employees who might not otherwise engage with the boss. Whatever it takes…do the work to close the gap and foster communication and feedback.

I had a boss once who started feedback conversations by asking, "Are you open to some feedback?" It seems like a simple question but it was actually a great strategy. It gave him an immediate pulse of whether the feedback was welcomed or not and if he should continue. Maybe the situation is too fresh and the person is not open to feedback right now but will be tomorrow after they have time to process.

See vulnerability as a superpower, gone are the days when senior leaders had to be perfect, all knowing beings. It’s takes courage and vulnerability to be a leader who listens and learns. Buts leaders who do that well are respected

Feedback as expressed in many comments above is a process that must have KPIs, must have conditions etc. We have turned a conversation into a product. The product is supposed to have dimensions and characteristics that meet the standards as set by the HR function. As such it is little wonder that senior leaders (and employees generally) feel that feedback is a task that is best avoided if possible. However, if we just encouraged conversations without dimensions, I wonder how much more aware, engaged and developed we all would be.

I think one of the biggest challenges is having patience. Many leaders when they take over a team or get a new employee want to immediately start providing feedback. I learned the hard way that feedback without first establishing trust isn't very helpful and may even be detrimental. People need to trust you so they can know the intent of your feedback is positive and helpful.